Forbes Solicitors has raised £915.00 for Bolton-based charity Backup by taking part in a lockdown sleep out fundraiser.
Backup, was founded in 1992 in partnership with Bolton Council and Irwell Valley Housing, is a charity that helps young people develop skills for independence and prevent homelessness providing temporary supported accommodation to people aged 16-25 in Bolton.
Forbes Solicitors’ housing and regeneration team supports and advises a number of charities, local authorities and registered providers of social and affordable housing, including a number who work closely with Backup.
Volunteers at the firm signed up to take part in Backup’s Spring Sleepout scheduled for April but unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, the fundraising event was cancelled. However, to continue showing support, Jennifer Hankinson who leads the Housing & Regeneration (Property) team at Forbes Solicitors opted to take part in a ‘lockdown sleepout’, spending the night in her garden.
Jennifer Hankinson, Partner at Forbes Solicitors and head of Housing & Regeneration, said: “We see first-hand the impact of the housing crisis and the great amount of work that is done by the committed teams who transform lives through the commitment to this cause.
“The impact of Coronavirus has been devastating for charities. Many charities now face a huge funding shortfall because the usual calendar of fundraising events have been cancelled, which is why we felt it was important to continue to show our support with the lockdown sleepout.
“Homelessness is an ever-increasing issue unfortunately and charities such as Backup are really important, providing specialist help and support to those young people who perhaps feel unsafe at ‘home’ and so would rather take to the streets or who perhaps have nowhere they can call ‘home’.”
