Channel bosses sleep rough at CEO Sleepout

Many executives and a Communications Minister slept rough in the cold Sydney rain on 19 June.

The CEO Sleepout event at Luna Park raised money for St Vincent de Paul Society to combat homelessness and disadvantage.

CRN spoke to the channel leaders experiencing for one night what many Australians face everyday, and present direct links to their personal donation page. Please give generously.

"Avnet has a “matching grants” program with the Avnet Cares umbrella, and as such, has matched dollar for dollar all employee donations to the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.

"At the end of the day, we hope to establish a corporate culture of giving that makes a meaningful difference to the lives of those less fortunate.

"Avnet has a global program called “Avnet Cares”; a report on our FY14 programs and initiatives is attached. At a local level, we are involved with the Salvation Army as well as St. Vincent de Paul, and more recently, have partnered with Beyond Blue and Bear Cottage.

"Avnet provides an extra annual leave day for all of our 200 Australian employees each year that further enables them to donate time to the charitable cause of their choosing. Our engagement with the organisations mentioned provides options for employees that are pre-planned, but many of our employees also choose to donate their time in other ways and we welcome that diversity and sense of giving back."

"At Dropbox, we acknowledge that we're all incredibly privileged to be working at one of the world's best tech companies. We have great benefits and we look after each other. None of us ever have to think about where our next meal is coming from or where is safe and comfortable to rest our heads each night.

"Personally I am at a stage in my career and my family life where thinking beyond the self is important. I can make a real impact by my actions. I can set a great example for my children too. It's my responsibility to do this.

"Additional to this our Dropbox Australia team is involved in giving our time to several charities and causes. In fact tomorrow after the sleep out a bunch of us will spend half the day fund raising for Inala (a charity raising money for people with disabilities). This is part of our Dropbox for Good program.

"On a more personal note, my family and I are involved in the Himalayan Development Foundations of Australia (hdfa.rog). I took my 9 year old son in to the eastern Himalayas last year on an expedition to raise money for the school children of a small village called Ghunsa.

"Since the devastating earthquake of the last couple of months we've continued to help raise money for the earthquake relief appeal for Nepal via the HDFA. My 8 year old daughter actually donated all her birthday gift money to the charity and here at Dropbox we donated money from internal prizes and events."

"Overall - this is part of our corporate code of responsibility. It's something integral to our business and its day to day operations. If we can't do this then who can?"

"So all I do is any little bit I can to help these guys off the street and in a warm bed. This is my fourth year now, and I’ve been doing it since before I started at Salesforce."

The federal MP has been a long-standing supporter of the charity event.

"We think if organisations like us, government departments and NGOs work together, we can actually help the community to abolish homelessness, which is actually achievable. If you think about it, poverty is something we can actually see disappearing in Australia if we get those three to work together. This is Techflare’s first year attending CEO Sleepout."

"As global leaders in energy efficiency, electricity distribution and automation, here at Schneider Electric, we believe access to energy is a basic human right and should be available to all.

"This philosophy is the basis for our extensive charity work around the globe and in Australia. We currently have programs in place where we help to support with professional training for people in developing nations or in emergency and rebuilding relief areas following natural disasters to improve living conditions and provide awareness of sustainable development.

"At a local level we have many dedicated employees who support charities such as The Smith Family and volunteer for organisations such as Engineers without Borders.

"I would like to thank all our Schneider Electric employees who have so passionately supported me in this event and personally, I’m glad to be part of a charity that is helping to change the lives of so many Australians."

Goss backed up from last year's effort, as Concur once again supported St Vincent de Paul's work with the homeless.

"Given there’s 105,000 homeless in Australia, it’s really a crime, and Ghandi says “be the change you want to see in the world” so here I am."

"Dave Goldberg, who was our CEO, was all about making difference, and social responsibility was core to him. He passed away a few weeks ago, so it’s good that SurveryMonkey was founded on trying to make a difference."

"We’ve given away globally over six million dollars to charity, and we’ve got nine local charities in Australia that we work with and we give 50 cents for every survey taken to charity, so it’s kind of built into the business."

After his 2014 effort, Simonsen was keen once again to help the homeless through the St Vincent de Paul charity.

"Hearing first-hand accounts from real people about the hardships they have had to face, strengthened my commitment to do something about it. The problem won't go away if we just ignore it. Change can't happen if there is no support, and to me, this event is not only a chance to raise much-needed funds, but also provides a great opportunity to change the stereotype of a homeless person, improve awareness and offer hope.

"Changing the story of homelessness is a cause our whole company has supported, with many staff volunteering their time to "Shake-a-can-for-Xmas", for example. We feel there is a social responsibility to help those people in less fortunate situations."