St Columba’s College raise £1,500 for Open Door through homeless sleepout

St Columba’s College students in St Albans have raised £1,500 for Open Door, a local charity supporting homeless people. The amount was raised during a homeless sleepout event that took place on the evening of Friday 24 March, despite the wind and rain, where over 40 students in Forms 3-5 (Years 9-11) participated in activities and workshops designed to raise awareness of the challenges faced by homeless people. The event was organized by members of the Sixth Form and supported by the College Leadership Team.

The students were given opportunities for reflection and provided with meals for supper and breakfast. The event raised a total of £1,500 in donations for Open Door, a charity working with homeless people in St Albans. The students were able to learn more about the work of Open Door through an information video presented during the event. This annual event began in 2017, and even continued in an online format during the Covid pandemic.

Lindsey McLeod, the Treasurer at Open Door, expressed gratitude to the pupils of St Columba’s College for their donation of £1,500, which will be used to support a range of activities at the Open Door Night Shelter, including the provision of nourishing, home-made meals and a listening service. The funds will also support a pilot scheme working with Druglink to provide early support for those with addiction issues, and a full-time outreach worker to engage with new and entrenched rough sleepers. Over the winter, Open Door also ran its extra Winter Beds provision, using volunteers to oversee additional portacabin accommodation.

David Shannon-Little, the Headmaster of St Columba’s College, praised the students for their compassionate effort to raise funds for Open Door: “Compassion is one of the three C’s we pride ourselves on at St Columba’s. It is a truly fantastic effort to see so many students putting this into practice for such a worthy cause, even more so when the leadership of the event is being driven by the older students themselves.”

Open Door is a charity that works with homeless people in the St Albans area. The charity provides support to those in need by offering services such as a night shelter, support for those with addiction issues, outreach workers, and nourishing, home-made meals. The charity relies on donations and volunteers to continue its work in the community.