Sleeping out for good cause

As anyone who knows Mike Newman might expect, his reason for participating in the Big Sleepout South is clear cut.

“I was asked,” the butcher explained. Simple as that. Straight to the point.

Thursday night’s event raises awareness and money for addressing homelessness. Organisers walked into Meaters of Marlborough seeking Mike’s support. He read the information. His immediate response: “Yeah, I can do it.”

Mike will join some five-dozen Marlburians at Seymour Square, rolling out sleeping bags over cardboard and spending the night exposed to the elements. He already has raised nearly $3,000 with a donation box at the butchery adding to contributions made through the online portal.

Quietly, not seeking fanfare, Mike routinely boosts local charities by providing for their fundraisers. He had “no idea” that his sleepout campaign “would create this sort of money; I mean, that’s a hell of a lot of sausage sizzles to make that sort of dough, isn’t it?”

The Big Sleepout South, an offshoot of an annual North Island event, will take place simultaneously in Blenheim and Christchurch.  All money raised in Marlborough will stay in Marlborough for social services provided at Christchurch Methodist Mission’s Blenheim office as well as Crossroads, which feeds the hungry, and Manu Ora, which treats people in dire need of health care.

Mike has particular beneficiaries in mind: children. “We as adults can make decisions that affect where we live, how we live, who we are, who we’re not,” he elaborated. “Children don’t have a choice.

“This is something that really drives me.”

Seymour Square sleepers will experience a slice of a homeless person’s life, but with some comforts of home. An indoor gathering with an evening meal will start the event; a morning meal will end it. Throughout the night, Blenheim Rotary Club volunteers will serve hot drinks and snacks out of a heated FENZ vehicle. Braziers will provide warmth.

Mike’s approach should surprise no one.

“With all due respect, I don’t want any fuss,” he stated, casting no aspersions on others who may have other needs.

“I just want to walk up with my sleeping bag and find a corner. I plan to go to sleep. Wake-up time is 5:30am; that’s when my alarm goes off. I appreciate the offer of breakfast, but I will be headed back this way [to Meaters] to get ready for another busy Friday.”

Big Sleepout South
When: Thursday (13 August)
Kick-off: 6pm, Nativity Church Hall
Sleepout: 9pm-dawn, Seymour Square
Donations: bigsleepoutsouth.nz (select Blenheim)