Kim Lykissas Takes on 2017 Vinnies CEO Sleepout

2017 Vinnies CEO Sleepout

GDR’s CEO Kim Lykissas will be braving it out in the cold this June at the 2017 Vinnies CEO Sleepout to help break the cycle of homelessness. Australian business leaders are asked to sleep out for one night of the year so that others don’t have to do it for life.

The concept of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout  began as a small local community project in Sydney’s Parramatta in ’06 and has now transformed into an annual nation-wide event with over 1,000 participating business leaders and over $5.3mil raised in funds.

This year, over 1,400 CEOs will be camping out with nothing but a sleeping bag, beanie and a sliver of cardboard to experience what over 105,000 homeless people experience every night in Australia. In WA alone, over 9,500 people are experiencing homelessness and alarmingly, 25% are under the age of 18.

From last year’s CEO Sleepout alone, Vinnies were able to provide 497,738 beds, 1,469,117 meals and assisted on 1,173,698 occasions.

GDR’s CEO Kim Lykissas comments, “I have some long term friends who are homeless and I have always wanted to do more to help. When I found out about the charity event I jumped at the opportunity, this will be my first year participating and I’m looking forward to being a part of such a worthy cause”.