The CEO of a Canadian insurance company spent last night sleeping outside in downtown Toronto, with just a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard for comfort – as part of an annual ‘executive sleep out’ raising money for homeless youth.
John Barclay, president & chief executive officer of South Western Insurance Group, was one of around 70 executives, including several from the insurance industry, to take part in Covenant House’s yearly fundraiser.
The charity is Canada’s largest centre for homeless youth, and runs ‘houses’ in cities across the country to provide shelter for young people living on the streets.
2016 marks Covenant House’s fifth sleepout, and this year the executives beat their target, raising over a whopping $1 million dollars.
This year will be the second time that Barclay has slept on the cold Toronto streets in aid of the charity.
Speaking to
Insurance Business on the eve of the event last night, Barclay said: “Sleeping outside is a sobering moment, because even though you’re doing it in a safe location with 60 people, you realise just how impossible it would be to sleep outside in a city for any extended amount of time.”
Barclay says he got involved with the charity through Mike George, CEO of
Trisura in Canada, who he says was “instrumental” in reaching out to people and making them understand why the work that Covenant House does is so important.
George is one of this year’s top fundraisers, having brought in $38,775 of the total raised, according to the charity’s website.
Speaking of the event, Barclay continued: “If you were alone you’d feel very unsafe, both for your physical well-being, but also your belongings which are all in a bag.”
Before taking to the streets, the sleepers met some of the youth that have been a part of Covenant House, who shared some of their personal stories about what they’ve endured and where they are now.
Dinner for the whole group is prepared by young people involved in the charity’s ‘Cooking for Life’ scheme, a pre-employment program that trains them for entry-level jobs in the hospitality industry.
“It’s pretty heart-rendering,” Barclay said.
“It just helps you to have a perspective on what they go through,” he explained. “It just gives you a little insight, it doesn’t make it their reality, but it does help you get a sense of it.”
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