Giant sleepover breaks world record, helping children all over the world
Children gave up their beds at home on Saturday night to sleep out at over a thousand venues as part of The Giant Sleepover World Record attempt, raising money for children caught up in emergencies
Monday 16 June 2008
The recent cyclone in Myanmar (Burma) and the earthquake in China continue to affect the lives of millions of children. Each night many children in Myanmar (Burma) and China prepare to spend another night outside the safety of their homes, living in temporary shelters or sleeping under tarpaulins, sometimes separated from relations.
Last Saturday (14 June) over 40,000 children across the UK gave up their beds at home to sleep out at over 1,200 Giant Sleepover venues to raise money for Save the Children's Emergency Fund, to help us continue our vital work with children caught up in disasters and emergencies around the world.
While raising vital money for children around the world - and for one night sharing the experience of what is a daily reality for many children affected by emergencies - all the children participating were attempting to break the World Record - and they succeeded!
The new World Record holders enjoyed a variety of fun activities before settling down for the night. Groups of young people slept out at a number of 'special sleepover venues' across the UK including:
- The London Dungeon
- Save the Children Head Quarters in Farringdon
- Lord's Cricket Ground
- Weymouth Sea Life Centre (Gweek, Cornwall)
- Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower at Gosport
- York Dungeons
- National Railway Museum
- Ironbridge Gorge
Tanya Steele, Director of Supporter Relations and Fundraising at Save the Children said: "We're delighted that so many young people took part in The Giant Sleepover to raise vital funds for vulnerable children caught up in emergency situations around the world. Congratulations to everyone for breaking the World Record! It's great that everyone enjoyed the sleepover - and that these children were able to spend the night in a safe environment away from home.
"Save the Children works in disaster situations to try and make sure that children caught up in emergencies are also kept safe. Right now we're working in Burma and China after the recent natural disasters, helping children and their families, and the money raised will help Save the Children to keep responding immediately to emergencies whenever they hit.
"We always welcome and encourage young people to get involved with fundraising. The annual Giant Sleepover event is a fantastic way for them to do so."
All the money raised for Save the Children will go towards the charity's Children's Emergency Fund (CEF). The CEF means the charity is able to respond immediately to an emergency. Having the funds in place before an emergency means Save the Children can deploy its team of emergency response experts immediately. The CEF also enables the charity to respond to emergencies that are not always in the headlines.
Each child and their parents received a 'goodie bag' on event and a Treasure Chest for their group which includes Top Trumps, Lush Products, Titan publications and Horrid Henry books.
Find out more
- Donate to the Children's Emergency Fund
- Find out about our work in emergency situations across the world
- Find out about more upcoming events and how you can get involved
