Newark gym owner raises more than £900 sleeping rough as part of The Great Tommy Sleep Out
A gym owner has raised more than £900 for charity after spending the night sleeping rough outside in a cardboard shelter, writes Laycie Beck.
Co-owner of Arena Health and Fitness, Newark, Graham Curson, 47, spent a windy Friday night sleeping rough in his back garden as part of The Great Tommy Sleep Out.
Despite initially setting out to raise £150, Graham has raised a massive £910 for the Royal British Legion through his chilly effort.
The money raised will go towards helping the thousands of veterans across the UK who are currently living on the streets.
Graham said: “I am so grateful to my friends and family for their donations.
“I know a lot of people have struggled financially over the past 12 months, so this absolutely blew my mind — I couldn’t thank them enough.”
Graham previously served 17 years as an air cartographer in the Royal Air Force, and he decided to raise money for The Royal British Legion after the sleep out caught his eye.
The Great Tommy Sleep Out is a national event organised by the Royal British Legion, where people all across the country have been sleeping outside for one night to raise awareness of homeless ex-Servicemen and women.
Graham said: “I like to do different challenges and charity events as I think it doesn’t matter how hard you think things are, there’s always someone worse off than you.
“I will always be grateful to the military as I was one of the lucky ones who left and have managed to build a new life for myself.”
Because of the current coronavirus restrictions, Graham had to set up his shelter in his back garden, using large boxes as cardboard, as is the basis of most shelters.
Graham slotted the boxes together to form a makeshift shelter that he could lie flat in, which protected him from the wind and cold weather. Temperatures reached lows of two degrees during his sleep out.
He said: “I struggle to sleep at the best of times and can wake up to the slightest noise outside so this was obviously amplified during my night outdoors, it was also very windy, which definitely didn’t help.”
The Royal British Legion estimates around 6,000 ex-Servicemen are homeless in the UK.