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Johannesburg - This year’s CEO SleepOut will take place at the Union Buildings, and participants will exclusively be women leaders.
The CEO SleepOut 2017 was launched on Tuesday at the Philanthropic Collection pop-up store at Rosebank Mall.
This is the third year the event will be running in South Africa. Collectively, in its first two years in 2015 and 2016, the CEO SleepOut raised over R46m.
At this year’s launch, former Constitutional Court judge Justice Yvonne Mokgoro spoke about the choice of the Union Buildings as the SleepOut venue. “It is apt that it is taking place at the Union Buildings, it sends a strong message of the type of leadership needed in South Africa’s democracy,” she said.
“We need selfless leadership, which is not obsessed with its own survival.”
She pointed out that the initiative is about connecting human beings to each other. “We as a people have promised after ’94 we will rebuild South Africa and create a society which is caring. I think the SleepOut project is the epitome of the promise made among ourselves, for ourselves.
“Ubuntu is connecting those who can make a difference to those who need the difference,” she added.
Makgoro said that making a difference is part of what South Africans promised themselves through the Constitution. “Achieving a caring society will leave a legacy for many generations to come.”
Makgoro also spoke on the importance of developing women leaders, which is why this year’s SleepOut is labelled the SheEO SleepOut. The Union Buildings was the destination for the largest women’s march in the history of the country.
The CEO SleepOut organisers are encouraging male leaders to identify and nominate women leaders to participate. This year’s event will take place on June 22.
The primary beneficiary is Door of Hope, a home for abandoned babies. “Door of Hope will ultimately use the awarded funds towards a 2017 CEO SleepOut™ Legacy Project, a long-term safe and caring Village for South Africa’s vulnerable children,” the organisers said. “The Village will provide a home for the toddlers who have not yet been adopted from Door of Hope.”
The secondary beneficiaries include the Salvation Army, Homeless Talk newspaper and Gift of the Givers.
READ: PICS: Critics won't bring down the CEO Sleepout, says Makhura
In its inaugural year 2015, the SleepOut was held in Maude Street, Sandton. The beneficiaries were Boys and Girls Town, who received all proceeds of over R26m.
In 2016, the Sleep Out was held on the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein. The initiative focused on education, and three beneficiaries - the ASHA Trust, Columba Leadership and the Steve Biko Foundation - each received over R3m.
Addressing critics of the event, trustee of the SleepOut CEO Trust Darren Olivier explained it has been the single most successful philanthropic event in the country. In 2015 the social return for every rand invested came to R3.15; in 2016 the social return grew to R4.24.
Brand ambassadors for this year's event include Advocate Thuli Madonsela, broadcast anchor Leanne Manas and Mokgoro.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, who was at the launch, introduced the school ambassadors for the SleepOut. He called for a moment of silence for the 18 pupils who lost their lives in the Bronkhorstpruit taxi accident.
READ: It will take a week to identify school kids burnt in taxi crash – MEC
The CEO SleepOut Trust will contribute R50 000 in total to help cover funeral costs of families.
