There’s a feeling amongst the team at the William Bourne pub in Chessington that their manager, Stacey Harris maybe a sucker for punishment. It all began when Stacey and her partner, Michael Larkins agreed to swap a Saturday night behind the bar for a night on the streets as part of the YMCA’s national fundraising event, Sleep Easy.
Stacey and Michael will join others on Saturday 28th January at the Memorial Gardens on Union Street in Kingston as they bed down for the night to raise money and awareness for those people sleeping rough on the UK’s streets.
“At the start of each year we pick a charity to support throughout the year by hosting fundraising events at the pub along with displaying collection boxes and generally raising awareness of the work of the charity do to our customers”, said Stacey. “This year we chose to support the YMCA London South West as it’s a local charity and the work that they do reaches a number of ages and people from all walks of life. What better way to start our fundraising activity than by sleeping on the streets? Yes, it will be cold but its only one night and there are so many people across the country who have to do this every night. We have a target of raising £500 and we’ll be calling on our customers to sponsor us and drop in any loose change after they’ve bought a round.”
The other reason the team think that Stacey and Michael are suckers for punishment? The couple have also signed up to take part in Four Weddings UK a programme shown on the UK channel, Sky Living. Following a similar style to Come Dine With Me, the programme involves four brides/grooms who attending each other’s weddings and rate them on their dress, the venue, the food and the overall experience. At the end of the show they discover which of the couples has won a luxury honeymoon based on their ratings.
“We thought it would be a bit of laugh to sign up for the programme”, said Stacey. “We’ve attended our first wedding for the programme which gave us an idea of what we’re up against and see the competition but we’re confident that we’ve got what it takes to win the prize. Our customers think it’s hilarious that we’re taking part and are looking forward to watching the programme when it airs – we’re thinking of holding a special screening at the pub so we can watch the drama unfold all together!”
If you would like to sponsor Stacey and Michael as they take part in Sleep Easy please visit their donation page: http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Williambourne