The Big City Sleep!
Over 100 Londoners will be braving the cold by swapping their comfortable beds for cardboard boxes to take part in the Big City Sleep - a mass 12 hour sponsored sleep out challenge in the heart of the city in aid of the ABC Trust (a charity dedicated to helping street children and vulnerable young people of Brazil). On Monday 30th November, sleepers will leave their home comforts and lay down their cardboard boxes on the floor of London's well-loved Spitalfields Market in East London, where they will sleep 'under the stars' beneath a glass ceiling.
The Big City Sleep will begin at 6.30pm with the arrival of sleepers to pitch in the secure private space of Spitalfields Market followed by a presentation by the ABC Trust, a mix of Brazilian entertainment including capoeira by the East London Caopeira Group, live acoustic music by Anglo- Brazilian band 'ZEEP' who will also lead a group sing-a-along with Girl from Ipanema, Imagine, Ghost town, Singing in the Rain, Valerie etc, and end with a warm up samba session led by the capoeristas to while away the cold hours. Hot food will also be provided by LEON restaurant to help everyone ease into a good night's sleep.
Sleepers will get a wake up call at 5.30am for a spot of light breakfast (courtesy of Tesco's - Soho branch) and to help clear up before they go back to their normal lives. Sleepers will also be given silver foil blankets for warmth, which will then be distributed to homeless people in the Spitalfields area by the ABC Trust team. The ABC Trust aims to raise a minimum of £15,000 to help provide basic provisions for street children this Christmas.
For the everyday Brit, the issues that Brazilian street children are facing is a distant concept, but through the Big City Sleep we hope to bring it closer to home and to raise awareness of some of the difficulties homeless children face during life on the street. Currently, there are approximately 7 million children living a life on the streets of Brazil, where they are forced to face violence, extreme poverty and isolation on a daily basis. By taking part in the Big City Sleep, Londoners will make a huge difference to many street children in Brazil, as the money raised through the challenge will go to ABC Trust's partner projects in Brazil who provide these children with the support, care, education and inspiration they need to transform their own futures.
Jimena Page - Founder of ABC Trust said "It is vital that people understand that this is not an attempt to undermine or trivialise the issues that street children face, and in no way is it aiming to recreate the everyday life of a Brazilian street child. The aim of the 'Big City Sleep' is to show members of the public what some aspects of life are like for those children who live on the streets in Brazil, the difference is that participants in the 'Big City Sleep' can go back to their own comforts and normal life the following day."
Toby Brown, Spitalfields Estate Director "We are delighted to support the ABC Trust; by using Spitalfields' public space to host the Big City Sleep fundraising event we are helping to raise awareness and money for some of worlds most vulnerable children". The Action for Brazil's Children Trust is supported by a number of high profile artists, our patrons include: Jimmy Page (OBE), Brian May (CBE), Jeremy Irons, Pele, Fernando Meirelles, Juliette Lewis, Romero Britto, Carlos Miele, Bebel Gilberto, & Julian Lloyd Webber.
To take part in the 'Big City Sleep' or for more information, please get in touch: Reference - Big City Sleep, email - info@abctrust.org.uk, or phone: 0207 287 3818
Posted Monday November 30th 2009
By The Onlines