Anna helps give homelessness the cold shoulder

Cheers as whisky worker’s sleepout raises £13,000

A Paisley worker played her part in raising a whopping £13,000 when she joined thousands of others in an open-air sleepout for charity.

Anna Mitchell, who works at Paisley whisky giant Chivas, took part in Social Bite’s Sleep in the Park Event in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

And the company made donations totalling £13,000 as a result of the event.

Anna said: “It was exciting to be a part of such a significant event.

“I’m proud to work for a company that supports charities in the way Chivas Brothers does.

“It was challenging but ultimately very rewarding and humbling to do my bit and raise more funds for Sleep in The Park.

“It was a cold but fun night, especially knowing the money will now go to such an important charity.”

More than 8,000 people came together to show their support for homeless people in Scotland by taking part in what was dubbed the world’s biggest sleep out.

Sleep in the Park has raised a total £ 3.6million already, with the aim to create a movement to end homelessness in Scotland within a five-year period.

Chivas Brothers said its donation is a clear signal of support for Social Bite’s vision to eradicate homelessness in Scotland for good.

In addition to an initial £ 10,000 donated, the group of employees representing the company slept out on the night, bringing in £ 1,500 of sponsorship, which has been doubled to £3,000 via the company’s Doubling Up scheme.

Chivas Brothers Global Communications Director Jennie Norrish added: “We are proud to have supported Social Bite for five years now and are delighted to be backing them again for this ambitious and exciting event.

“Those sleeping out faced a cold December night, but we are all acutely aware that the people who will benefit from the funds raised have no choice but to regularly endure the unforgiving Scottish weather without the luxury of a warm bed to go home to.

“One of our core values as a company is supporting our local communities.

“We do this through our Charities of the Year, employee volunteering days, matching our employees’ fundraising efforts through our Doubling Up scheme, and by partnering with remarkable charities such as Social Bite in their groundbreaking effort to eradicate homelessness in Scotland.”

Throughout the year, Chivas Brothers offers a volunteering programme and provides funding to encourage employees’ charity fundraising.

Employees are able to take part in a range of different community projects through the Chivas SoS scheme.

They can use one working day per year for volunteering in their community and there is also the Doubling Up scheme, where the company will match up to £500 in fundraising per employee.

On top of that, employees can vote for a Charity of the Year, which is subsequently supported through fundraising initiatives.

It was a cold but fun night , especially knowing the money will now go to such an important charity Anna Mitchell