VOLUNTEERS who spent a night on the streets have raised over £6,000 for local good causes.

Members of ‘Helping Hands (Northwich in Need)’ spent 36 hours out in the town, starting at 8am on Friday morning through to 8pm on Saturday evening.

Their goal was to raise awareness of those sleeping rough in Northwich and to raise funds for the charities and organisations that support them.

But the volunteers were blown away by the generosity of passers-by who provided hot drinks and donated in their thousands via an online donations page.

“The public were absolutely phenomenal during the sleepout, as they have been in the three years since we started up,” said Northwich in Need founder Daniel Pendlebury.

“Never in any of our wildest dreams would we have thought that we would raise over £6,000.

“None of us were allowed to carry money and we could only survive from donations given to us by passers-by to replicate what the homeless go through each day.

“During the sleepout, we encountered three genuine homeless people and one did not have any shoes, so a member of the public overheard us talking to him and went and bought him some.

“The group is all about helping each other, and seeing people perform selfless acts like that is just great to see.”

Northwich Guardian:

Volunteers are still working out the exact total raised from the sleepout, but it has already exceeded £6,000.

And the group is already planning ways in which to use the funds to make a huge difference to hundreds of lives in and around the area.

“We will donate £1000 to Save a Life Cheshire to provide much needed help and support for veterinary care for those sleeping rough and on low incomes,” Daniel continued.

“Another £500 will go to Cheshire Without Abuse, so that they can buy and install a new cooker to continue catering for those who visit them.

“Davenham Royal British Legion have supported us for two years and allow us to use their venue on Christmas Day to feed the homeless and lonely in Northwich, so we are giving them £200.

“And we will also buy £1000 of the highest demanded groceries and donate them to Mid Cheshire Food Bank to help the many families who need their help.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg, as the majority of work goes on behind the scenes without anybody knowing, but raising awareness this way is very important.”

The group plan to hold another sleepout in the future following the ‘overwhelming’ response they have received from the community.

Donations can still be made via gofundme.com/f/northwich-in-needs-november-night.