Vinnies CEO Sleepout: from luxury homes to sleeping rough
Sydney real estate agent Monika Tu will mark her 10th wedding anniversary at the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
When Sydney real estate agent Monika Tu signed up for her third Vinnies CEO Sleepout in Sydney on June 21 she realised it was her 10th wedding anniversary.
Instead of holding the celebration she planned, Ms Tu, who runs the Black Diamond Property Concierge group that sells up-market properties to Chinese buyers, decided to get her husband, Jad Khattar, to come along to the sleep-out, where executives sleep “rough” to raise money for the homeless.
“It is my wedding anniversary but I thought this was a good cause so I invited my husband,” she said.
“Because I am in real estate, I am selling luxury homes every single day. It is really good to realise a lot of people still need shelter above their heads.”
Ms Tu, who was one of the largest fundraisers for the sleep-out last year, raising almost $50,000, said she had received backing from some 200 people in the Chinese community who wanted to support the sleep-out to raise money for the St Vincent de Paul Society.
This included some of her followers on social media in China.
She said she used social media to connect with her network to encourage donations.
Now in its 12th year, the sleep-out has become the major fundraiser for the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Business leaders who will be involved in this year’s sleep-out include Genworth chief executive Georgette Nicholas, Bupa Australia chief executive Richard Bowden, Groupon Australia chief executive Steve Traplin, Hipages Group chief executive David Vitek, Tourism Australia chief executive John O’Sullivan, Minter Ellison partner Chris Kinsella, ASI Solutions executive Karl Sice and company director Holly Kramer.
Others include the managing director of Google Australia, Jason Pellegrino, the chief executive of the Port Authority of NSW, Grant Gilfillan, and the chief executive of The Australian, Nicholas Gray.
Mr Gray, who has been involved in the fundraising event for the past four years, yesterday said he was concerned about homelessness.
“The number of homeless people in Australia is growing, and Vinnies do such great work, in such an unassuming way, to help the people who need it most,” he said. “The Australian is proud to be a media partner. I am proud to be participating for the fifth time and I urge business leaders to contribute either by sleeping out or donating.”
Launching the event yesterday, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW chief executive Jack de Groot called on the NSW government to hold a crisis summit on homelessness.
He said a recent release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that NSW faced an “unparalleled and unprecedented housing crisis”.
Mr de Groot said there were more than 37,000 people who faced homelessness in NSW on census night in 2016 — a 37 per cent rise over the past five years.
To participate in or contribute to the sleep-out, go to www.ceo sleepout.org.au
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