Sleeping out for charity, Andrew Tongue is judged the best dressed.
Senior members of the Australian Public Service (APS) were prominent among the many selfless executives and managers who spent last night (21 June) tasting the impact of homelessness as a way of raising funds for the St Vincent de Paul charity, Vinnies in its annual CEO Sleepout.
Braving Canberra’s less-than tropical mid-winter night, representatives from across the APS slept without shelter to help change the lives of other Australians experiencing homelessness.
Deputy Chief Executive of Safe Work Australia, Amanda Grey was among the APS contingent that raised much-needed funds to reduce homelessness and build awareness of the issue in the community.
“Homelessness can affect anyone at any time,” Ms Grey said.
“I have children and can’t imagine them facing the harsh conditions that so many others endure.”
She said that with over 100,000 Australians regularly experiencing homelessness, she was willing to make the sacrifice in the hope of raising at least $2,000 for Vinnies.
Reports from the Vinnies website late yesterday afternoon revealed Ms Grey had easily passed her benchmark, raising over $2,200 for the cause with the possibility of more to come.
Other Canberra-based senior APS leaders joining the CEO SleepOut and raising big dollars included Greg Hood from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau ($18,919); Brendan Nelson of the Australian War Memorial ($14,097); Frances Adamson, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ($12,822); Alastair McGibbon, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ($10,848); Matthew Trinca, National Museum of Australia ($6,449); Rob Stefanic, Department of Parliamentary Services ($6,349); Michelle Ainsworth, Australian Broadcasting Corporation ($4,493); Michael Manthorpe, Dermot Walsh and Paul Pfitzner from the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office ($8,538) ; and Patricia Kelly of IP Australia ($2,667).
Andrew Tongue of Prime Minister and Cabinet fell just short of the biggest fundraisers ($2,008) but earned a special mention as the best dressed due to the PS News reporter’s AFL affiliation.
For more information about the CEO Sleepout around the nation, the Vinnies website can be accessed at this PS News link.
