Sleeping Rough Brings Homeless Plight to Light for TCP Lighting and Homebase

Nov. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- As overnight temperatures plummeted on Thursday 10th November, Technical Consumer Products (TCP) Managing Director Thomas Luecke and Andrew Carnie, Trading Director of Homebase were to be found sleeping out on cardboard boxes in the inhospitable surroundings of central London.

This was not the result of some unexpected misfortune, but rather a show of support for homeless charity Centrepoint. Thomas, along with Andrew and Benjamin Boyne and Jason Bolton joined 650 other fundraising ‘sleepers’ in London’s Exchange Square to experience something of the discomfort endured by homeless people every night among the bright lights and noise of the capital city.

Centrepoint is the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people, providing housing and support for over 1,200 16-25 year olds every year to help them into education, work and a home of their own. Centrepoint works directly in London and the North East of England to help vulnerable young people get their lives back on track, and collaborates with other organisations across the UK to advise government.

On the ‘Sleep Out’ night, Thomas Luecke joined Andrew Carnie to present a cheque for £20,000 to Centrepoint, the result of TCP’s pledge to donate 1p for every TCP energy-efficient CFL light bulb sold in Homebase stores.  

Thomas says: “It was a perishing cold night, the pavement was very hard and Andrew and I got very little sleep. However, I know this is only a fraction of the misery suffered by thousands of young homeless people every night. We had the luxury of security guards, a canopy over our heads, and even refreshments and entertainment – so we knew nothing of the fear, hunger and hopelessness that homeless people can suffer. But the experience did bring their plight vividly into focus for me and the other fundraisers, and helped to raise awareness and vital funds for Centrepoint’s essential work.”

TCP http://www.tcpi.eu is also sponsoring Team Homebase for Centrepoint, currently in training for a gruelling 700km race to the South Pole in December. The team, comprising Andrew Carnie, Benjamin Boyne and Jason Bolton, will be competing against 14 teams of polar explorers, enduring temperatures as low as minus 50°C, in this ultimate endurance challenge. Their target is to raise £250,000 for Centrepoint. And they’ve already won the support of the charity’s patron, Prince William: http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/what-you-can-do/fundraise/s...

Andrew Carnie, Trading Director at Homebase, says: “The support we’ve had from TCP for our fundraising efforts has been fantastic. TCP shares our commitment to helping Centrepoint improve the outlook for vulnerable young homeless people. With TCP’s £20,000 donation and sponsoring of Team Homebase for Centrepoint in the South Pole Race, we are now well on the way to achieving our £250,000 fundraising target for Centrepoint.”

Anyone wishing to lend their support can do so at the team’s Just Giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/South-Pole-Race-2012  

For more information about the Centrepoint, please contact: Media & PR Officer Chris Gerrard 02074 236 887/ 07540678234 or email: c.gerrard@centrepoint.orgc.gerrard@centrepoint.org  

For more information on Centrepoint’s Sleepout, visit: http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/sleepout

Centrepoint
•   Centrepoint is the leading charity for homeless young people aged 16-25
•   Centrepoint supports around 1,200 homeless young people a year providing a range of accommodation-based and floating support services in London and the North East of England. These include emergency night shelters and accommodation-based short stay services, as well as specialist services for care leavers, ex-offenders, young single parents, foyers and supported flats.
•   Centrepoint’s work is about more than just providing a safe bed for the night, Centrepoint helps young people to turn their lives around by gaining essential life skills; tackling their physical and mental health issues and moving into education or employment.
•   Through policy work, Centrepoint aims to influence public policy, campaigning on behalf of the young people it supports and homeless young people throughout the UK.
•   Founded in 1969, Centrepoint has helped more than 75,000 homeless young.
•   HRH The Duke of Cambridge became Centrepoint’s Patron in 2005.
•   For more information, please visit www.centrepoint.org.uk

# # #

Technical Consumer Products (TCP) is a US-based supplier and manufacturer of own-brand and TCP-branded compact fluorescent (CFL), halogen and LED light bulbs. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, TCP today has a 70% share of the US CFL light bulb market and supplies the country’s largest retailers and electrical distributors, including Wal-Mart and The Home Depot. The company employs more than 10,000 people worldwide, serving customers across the world.

TCP serves Europe, Middle East and Africa from its centrally located European headquarters in the Netherlands assisted by its UK-based sales office that opened in Northampton in June 2010.

For more information on TCP visit http://www.tcpi.eu or http://www.tcpi.com