TAKING IT UP TO ELEVEN: Richard Faulks Marks His Eleventh Year Sleeping Out for Vinnies
While a cold Canberra winter is intimidating enough for individuals with access to blankets, a comfy bed, heating and most importantly a roof over their head, it’s even harder for those sleeping rough in our city. Homelessness Australia (2022) estimates that 116,000 people in Australia are experiencing homelessness, which is an unacceptable number to philanthropic individuals like Richard Faulks from Snedden Hall & Gallop. Richard has participated in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout for 11 years, with his first night out starting back in 2011. When Richard thinks back to why he first signed up it can be boiled down to his great sense of community spirit, “I first signed up in 2011, and I think one of the reasons that I got involved is because we have an attitude at Snedden Hall & Gallop that we want to have connection to the community. The issue of homelessness was one I had an interest in because in Canberra there’s a misconception that it’s not a problem here. The CEO Sleepout is a good fundraising campaign because it got the attention of the corporate world and some people like thinking of the corporate world suffering a bit (laughs),” Richard said.
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MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION NEWS EDITION 2 2022
The event raises much need funds for St Vincent De Paul’s fantastic existing programs as well as enabling future initiatives to further support the homeless community. The large number of people still experiencing homelessness is what drives Richard to keep participating. “I believe in the cause and believe there is still a need for it, nearly 1,600 people a night in the ACT sleep rough. Vinnies do a fantastic job supporting people who are less advantaged and it’s a very small sacrifice to make to be uncomfortable for one night to help Vinnies to do a lot of good,” Richard explained. This year four brave Snedden Hall & Gallop team members joined Richard to camp out in their courtyard in Deakin. Richard has been named one of Vinnies event champions, and he recruited PBS Building (ACT) to join him to create a hub in Deakin. He hopes to get more surrounding Deakin businesses to join him in future years saying, “It’s really important for all businesspeople to consider getting involved. Only one night of discomfort, one night of no sleep but it makes a huge difference for fellow Canberrans sleeping rough.”
