Patrick Ball of Musgrove and Ball Joins the CEO Sleepout
UK Business leaders unite to fight homelessness across the UK. "It was freezing, but we all did an amazing thing on the 9th of November!
I slept rough at Notts County's ground with some amazing business people across Nottinghamshire to raise money for CEO Sleepout UK.
In October, I jumped at the chance to join the CEO sleepout after seeing a post on LinkedIn, a decision that actually landed me a 10-day ban from the business platform. I joined with just under 4 weeks to go until the event and knew I had to act quickly to hit my individual £1,000 target. I sent the link over to family and friends and started to get bits and pieces over the first weekend, but I realised the target was going to need more fundraising efforts.
I began to send the link to clients, business connections, and ex-colleagues from 12 years and 20,000 connections on the platform on Monday, and after sending 250–300 messages with the link, I reached £875 by Tuesday evening and suddenly got kicked off LinkedIn with no explanation.
I spent the next 10 days highly stressed in LinkedIn prison with no response from their teams, but it must have been for spamming people to raise money. I regained access the following Friday and changed my strategy before hitting target.
The night in question was eye-opening and started by pitching my place in the stand where I slept for the night in 3-degree temperatures. We went into the executive suites to have some light snacks and listen to the inspirational charities, Emmanuel House, The Friary drop-in centre, and the Notts County Foundation, as well as an inspirational speaker called Tracey.
I was kindly given the stage to share the Musgrove and Ball story and my own personal experiences of addiction, homelessness, recovery, and building up the first business in the UK to tackle hidden addiction in the workplace.
I want to thank everyone for the warm reception and kind words after my share, which came from the heart and aimed to make people think about the fact that it's not a long drop from the top.
We went outside for a night in the cold with a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, lots of layers, including a big coat, gloves, and my 9-year-old daughter Eva's pink blanket that she asked me to use to keep me warm. ????
After very little sleep, worried about sleeping as the temperatures dropped, I was woken to the smell of sausage and bacon at 5:30 by the most amazing breakfast caterers arranged by CEO Sleepout, and I headed home shortly after to my own warm bed.
I have raised £1,425 so far, with donations open for a few more weeks, and as a total, the business leaders of Nottingham have raised over £46,000, with some donations still coming in.
Amazing work, and I want to say a big thank you to all 100 people who sponsored me for a brilliant cause"
Patrick Ball
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Patrick-Ball1
