A YOUNG girl from Darlington is raising awareness of the realities of sleeping rough through winter by sleeping in a tent for a week.

Victoria Lightfoot is nine years old and attends Abbey School and she decided six months ago to sleep outside every night for a week in December to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in Darlington, and indeed the rest of the UK, and raise some money for the charity, Centrepoint.

Victoria’s camping experience lasted from December 12 to December 18.

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For obvious safety reasons Victoria was joined by her mother and on some nights, her younger sister.

The family set up a Just Giving page with the target of raising £250.

They smashed that goal and have so far raised £1419 for Centrepoint.

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The Northern Echo:

 

Centrepoint is the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people.

It supports over 14,000 16-25 year olds into a home and a job every year. Working directly in London and the north of England, its work covers all of the UK through a network of 40 partner organisations.

John Lightfoot, Victoria’s dad, said: “Mighty proud of her.

"She’s been planning to do this for six months and 100 per cent her idea.

“The stats on homelessness are horrific so any support is massively appreciated.”

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This isn’t Victoria’s first festive good deed.

Last year she raised money for the charity KidsOut which provides disadvantaged children across the UK with exciting memories to cherish.

Victoria read 100 pages a day for a month and raised £1000 for the charity.

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On the Just Giving page, Victoria wrote: “Imagine not having a house to go back to, not having fresh clothes to put on, not having enough food. We all take that for granted but there are thousands of young people out there today just like us who aren’t nearly as lucky.

“I chose to do it at this time of year because it is the coldest but the homeless have to sleep outside in any weather. It would mean a great deal to me if you made even the tiniest of donations. Remember it’s not for me it's for them.”

If you would like to donate to Victoria’s Just Giving page, click here.

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