Australian CEOs Sleep on Streets for the Homeless

Swapping suits for simple sleeping bags and pillows, business leaders from around Australia have braved a nasty winter when they roughed it on the streets of Sydney to raise money for the homeless.

Despite rain and an overnight low of nearly 10 degrees Celsius, they say they are more than happy to contribute to those in need. CRI's Australian correspondent Chen Xi brings us the story.

You might have been sound asleep last night in a warm bed, but there were some strange bedfellows across Australia overnight as the leading CEOs took part in the 2011 Vinnie's CEO Sleepout.

In this fundraising event, the country's top businessmen and women have shifted their attention from making decisions to making a difference in a bid to help address the growing issue of homelessness in Australia.

And for most of the participants, this isn't their first time. Ashley Spencer is the vice president of Hilton Worldwide, a leading hotel brand in the country.

"First time when I joined in the Sleepout, I didn't sleep that much, actually you sleep late and wake up very early in the morning, and normally with stiff back, because you sleep on the floor and a piece of cardboard. Seriously, it's quite a humbling experience I must say and you just get a glimpse of what a lot of people do in their daily lives. That's a great thing."

Since early April, participation by over 1,000 CEOs across major cities in Australia has allowed the charity to collect a fortune, and the number is still growing.

Besides fundraising, some businesspeople are thinking about other issues. Lincoln Crawley, managing director of ManpowerGroup, a company of workforce solutions, also slept outside in the chilly night.

"To raise money is great, but I think the key is to raise awareness, so we've been talking about training for them, give them choices so they can actually get off streets and get them into work and support themselves, if we can bring some attention to it, that's a good thing."

With nothing much more than a piece of cardboard to sleep on and a hat to keep their heads warm and whatever they could find to fashion a mattress or a shelter, in Sydney alone, some 250 chief executives have begun to understand what it's like for the 16,000 homeless people who brave the cold every night without a warm bed in the country.

Just like one of the organizers, Julia McDonald, who said that the event has an even greater effect on these top Australian bosses as well.

"Very passionate, I mean they surprised themselves. They come onboard to do something to help. When we see the CEOs leave the next morning, they leave different people and some of them have since told us that from last year's event that they are now changing the way they are doing business."

Dr Caroline Hong, CEO of a local medical organization, is the only Asian businesswoman who took part in the event. Having been raised in a poor family with other nine brothers and sisters, Caroline showed a lot of sympathy towards the homeless.

"My experience with poverty and being homeless for a period has helped me get some sympathy and understanding, a greater understanding than most people, in this CEO Sleepout. I think business people, they would become more aware of their social responsibilities to society, because homeless in Australia is everyone's problem. If you solve that problem, we have a better Australia and a better world."

For CRI, I'm Chen Xi in Sydney Australia.