Clubs CEOs Sleeping it Rough to Tackle Homelessness

Among those who participated in this year’s CEO Sleepout were Danny Munk from Wests Illawarra, Ce.x Group CEO John Rafferty and Oak Flats Bowling Club CEO Debbie Organ. 

Each lent their time—and warmth—to a cause that’s becoming more urgent with every passing winter.

For Wests Illawarra CEO Danny Munk, the experience was physically and emotionally confronting.

"Let’s just say by three o’clock the word ‘sleep’ was over," Danny told ABC Radio Illawarra’s Breakfast Show host Melinda James the morning after the event.

"It was just a case of going ‘can I actually get warm again?’ So, I'm feeling a bit better now, but it does highlight what people go through."

Danny spoke candidly about how tough the night was—not just the cold, but the deeper reality of what people face every night on the streets.

"The whole purpose is to get everybody, when you’re knocking on doors and fundraising for this, to think a lot wider. The night’s companionship is great, but the night’s pretty tough."

Danny, who has been involved with the initiative for a decade, also noted how fundraising has been more difficult this year, reflecting wider economic challenges.

"The group here did a great job, raising well over $70,000 this year, and as I understand from Vinnies, they reached their target nationally of $8 million. But it’s just a drop in the ocean."

Highlighting a local crisis, he added: "The Wollongong-Illawarra region is now noted as one of the highest risk regions for people sleeping rough. They’ve got over 2000 people on a waitlist for accommodation, 200 under the urgency list. It’s not a record the Illawarra and Wollongong really want to hold."

Meanwhile up on the Mid Morth Coast, C.ex Group CEO John Rafferty joined the cause for the eleventh consecutive year, backing charities Warrina Women’s Refuge and Adele House Drug and Rehabilitation Centre for Men.

"When I got up this morning, it was 18.5 degrees when I was driving to work and I thought, oh, tonight’s going to be a snack, right?" he told Triple M Coffs Coast’s Michael Moffat ahead of the C.ex group sleepout.

"But it’s actually got a bit cooler now than it has been. It is forecast to be about six degrees."

John explained that their chosen charities address the needs of both women escaping domestic violence and men recovering from addiction.

"For drug and rehabilitation for men... they get in jail, they feel safe in jail where they get three meals and overnight accommodation and when they come out, they fall back into the same cracks again. The next thing you know, they’re back in jail again. So, it’s great to see when they can do work in those areas."

Also taking part was Debbie Organ from Oak Flats Bowling Club, who hosted a Sleep Out and Movie Night on 28 June.

ClubLIFE caught up with Debbie a couple of days before the big event.

“I have done the CEO sleepout many times, however this year I will be sleeping out with the Board, management and staff of both Oak Flats Bowling Club and the Illawarra Yacht Club,” Debbie said.

“This year we are inviting the community to sleep out with us and raise money for the local Vinnies food truck.

“One hundred per cent of the money raised will go direct to the St Vincent De Paul food truck in Wollongong, who will be present on the night.”