First boycotts beds
FirstGroup employees participated in Boycott your Bed with UK Charity Partner Action for Children. The company raised just under £5,000 for vulnerable children and families across the UK.
For the past 22 years, Action for Children has organised Byte Night: a corporate sleep out event, which encourages individuals to sleep rough for a night to acknowledge the vast number of young people sleeping outdoors in the UK and raise money for the charity. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event took on a new format, with participants nationwide being asked to boycott their beds and spend the night somewhere unusual. In each part of the business, employees pitched tents, slept in empty bathtubs, weathered storms in greenhouses and even camped out in former buses.
Overall, the event raised more than £260,000 for Action for Children.
Kate Broome, FirstGroup’s Director of Corporate Responsibility, said: “I’m proud to support Boycott your Bed for Action for Children, sleeping in my living room under a pillow fort with my young kids. It’s great to see our Charity of Choice Partner finding ways to get people involved in fundraising from the comfort of home – though it may not have been too comfortable on the night!”