Regenda Group members, Petrus and Positive Footprints have joined forces to instil the next generation with the compassion, understanding and motivation to end homelessness for good!
Positive Footprints is an innovative education service provider focused on career-based learning. Experienced in working with schools across the country, they are now supporting homelessness charity, Petrus, to develop and deliver ‘sleep out,’ events.
The events aim to help children to understand homelessness and ensure they don’t grow up holding unhelpful stereotypes about homeless people.
‘Sleep out to help out,’ was piloted with Monksdown Primary School on Friday 8th March, with over 100 pupils from the school taking part. Spending the night at their school, they watched videos of Petrus Service users talking about their experiences of homelessness and the impact Petrus’ support has had on them.
They then went on to decorate bags with messages that raised awareness and challenged misconceptions of homelessness before building cardboard shelters to sleep in for the night and walking around the playground when the temperatures had dropped around midnight.
Petrus Marketing and Communication Officer, Corinne McGinty said, “Homelessness can be a scary subject for children but the children at Monksdown Primary School showed so much compassion! It was amazing to see how they had understood that homelessness could happen to anyone, and it didn’t mean someone was bad, lazy, or uneducated.”
The school has raised over £2,300 so far, with the total still climbing! The funds raised will be split evenly between Petrus and Monksdown Primary School.
Petrus and Positive Footprints now plan to work together to roll this opportunity out to more schools in their network, helping more children understand homelessness and become inspired to create change in their futures.
One of the school pupils told us that they had an amazing time, and it was his first time sleeping out anywhere without family, so he was nervous. He is very proud of himself and very proud to be part of an amazing school who raise awareness and fundraise for such great causes.
Positive Footprints Partnerships and Programmes Manager, Josh Cliff, “I just want to say a huge thanks to the amazing teachers and volunteers who organised and helped at our first sleep out! We’re so proud to work with this amazing school.”
If you would like to find out how your school can take part, please email Colin at Petrus, petrus@petrus.org.uk.
