Wigan Warriors players left their home comforts behind for the night to support people facing poverty and homelessness in the borough.
Members of the team joined The Brick’s annual Big Sleepout on Friday, forgoing their cosy beds to sleep in unusual places for the night – the gym, community garden and physio room!
They will be collecting money for the charity, as well as raising awareness, and want to encourage others to get involved.
Martin McLoughlin, the club’s head of community, said: “We want all people in the Wigan borough to be happy, healthy and safe. Food poverty and homelessness is a huge issue for so many communities, and we hope that by working in partnership with The Brick we can support the amazing work they do and help tackle and raise awareness of these issues.”
Staff and volunteers at The Brick are invited people to help make a difference by sleeping in their garden, making a tent in their house or even camping with friends in the school hall for just one night.
CEO Louise Green said: “We are looking forward to this year’s Big Sleepout and we are delighted that Wigan Warriors are joining the campaign for the night. We are looking forward to an ongoing partnership with Wigan Warriors and we have some exciting plans for the coming months, where the team will be joining us and offering their support across a number of community initiatives.”
She added: “We want to encourage anyone who can to grab a sleeping bag and sleep outdoors for the night or if this isn’t possible, people can create a den in their lounge or even sleep in the bathtub!
“Every penny that is raised by people taking part goes to The Brick and enables us to continue to support people in poverty. As the numbers of people and families facing poverty is increasing every day, the money we raise is more important now than ever before. Together we can tackle poverty.”
People are asked to make a donation via The Brick’s JustGiving page here or by texting BRICK followed by the donation amount to 70480.