Registration
Organsising your own Sleep Out?
You can register as an Individual (suitable for people sleeping in their own home) or Team (suitable for work, sports or social groups) organising your own Sleep Out. Click on the following links and follow the prompts.
If your Team would like to join one of our Community Sleep Outs in Galway city centre, Salthill, Loughrea or Oranmore please email Karol at galway@sleepoutforsimon.ie
Fundraising as a team is a lot easier than fundraising as an individual!
The best way to get involved is to register as a team and do the Sleep Out together.
Of course! Sleep Out for Simon is open to everyone, everywhere!
Fundraising
There are loads of fun ways to raise money for your Sleep Out for Simon Challenge.
Check out our fundraising guides and top tips here.
If you have any queries you can email us at galway@sleepoutforsimon.ie
Your target is there to motivate you and we ask you to make every effort to achieve your goal to support our work in protecting people from the trauma of homelessness.
We are so grateful for all your effort and the most important thing is that you give your Sleep Out and fundraising 110%.
Amazing! Well done on reaching your target. Keep up the good work!
Yes, absolutely!
If you have registered as a team the funds you raise will be automatically added to your team page and your supporters can also donate directly to your team.
We work with a fundraising platform called iDonate to help with our online fundraising.
When you register for the Sleep Out for Simon, iDonate will automatically generate your personal fundraising page.
You can easily share the link to your fundraising page with your friends, family and co-workers by email, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.
Your supporters can click on the link and donate directly online to your fundraising page.
Your supporters can also search for your fundraising page here.
To add offline donations to your iDonate fundraising page:
- Select the My Donors option listed on your fundraising page.
- Select the Offline Donations button.
- Select the Add Donor button.
- Complete the donor information (i.e donor name, message, date, & donation amount)
- Click the Add button to add/save the offline donation.
To transfer funds received by cash/cheque directly to Galway Simon via your iDonate page.
- Select the My Donors button on your fundraising page.
- Click the Offline Donations button.
- Click the Transfer Offline Donations button and complete the donation form provided in order to transfer any outstanding balance directly to the cause/charity via iDonate.
You can also transfer cash/cheques via our website Donate page or post
You can also submit cash/cheque donations online through our Galway Simon Community Donate page or post them to Galway Simon’s address below, please make sure to include your name (and your Team’s name if necessary) and reference your donation is for Sleep Out for Simon!
Galway Simon Community (Sleep Out for Simon)
11 Sean Mulvoy Business Centre
Sean Mulvoy Road
Galway.
You have 3 options for thanking donors from your iDonate account dashboard.
1) Automated Reply to Donors:
- In your account Dashboard, select My Account to open menu options,
- Select Create Thank You Message to donors, and
- Complete the form to send an automated response email whenever a donation is made to your page.
2) Send a message to all past donors:
- From your account dashboard select My Donors,
- Select Thank / Update All Donors, and
- Follow the instructions on this page to send a thank you message to everyone that has donated to your page.
3) Thank each donor Individually:
Similar to option number 2 above, from your account dashboard:
- From you account dashboard select My Donors to see a list of all of the people who donated page.
- With each donation detail, there is an option to send a Reply to the donor.
(Note** this response message will also show publicly on your fundraising page.)
We recommend taking lots of photos throughout your Sleep Out to share with your donors during and after the night itself.
You can share updates on your fundraising page or share them on your own social media channels.
In order to get one of our much sought-after, cosy and stylish yellow beanies you need to raise €250!
All funds donated through iDonate go directly to Galway Simon Community. You don’t have to worry about this. It happens automatically.
100% of the funds raised go directly towards our Homelessness Prevention Services for those at risk of homelessness in the Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
Sleep Out Event
If you can, it is best to Sleep Out outside and brave the elements for the night in your garden, school, community centre or club! If you do not have access to a safe outside place, you can always sleep inside on your living room floor, office meeting room, or bedroom floor. Please ensure your Sleep Out location is safe and secure and you have access to bathroom facilities. Please ensure you do not sleep in a public place.
Private Sleep Outs
If you are organising your own private Sleep Out we encourage you to invite family and friends join you– it’s a great opportunity to engage in a conversation about what homelessness looks like in our community. But please check with the organiser of your Sleep Out event. We would also encourage you to recruit other people to register and fundraise as part of your team.
Community Sleep Outs
Community Sleep Outs in Galway city centre, Salthill, Loughrea and Oranmore are closed to the general public for health and safety. Only those who have registered with Karol at galway@sleepoutforsimon.ie can attend these Community Sleep Outs on the night.
No – while our official Sleep Out takes place on Friday 6th October, schools and community groups are free to organise their own Sleep Out in a safe place of their choosing on a date that works best for them.
The weather will be cold and potentially wet so make sure you are prepared by checking off the following kit list:
• Sleeping bag – cold weather and waterproof sleeping bag
• Thermals – layers are the way forward for staying as warm as possible!
• Coat, hat, gloves, scarf, thick socks
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Torch
• A fully charged phone – there will be no power sockets available for you to use during the event
We would like you to remain outside wherever possible, providing you’re not putting your health at risk.
Consider using cardboard to lie upon, sleeping close to buildings to get some shelter and using a waterproof sleeping bag to stay dry and warm.
Health and Safety
If you are organising your own Sleep Out please do not sleep in a public space – this is to ensure your safety and respect the dignity and privacy of those who are genuinely sleeping rough.
We instead recommend joining us from your own location such as your home, garden, workplace, or at an official event.
If you have a chosen venue outside of your home, please make sure you have obtained the necessary permissions from the venue owner or management.
Before you choose your Sleep Out location, make sure to have a look around and consider the risk in the immediate area i.e. broken glass or rubbish.
Consider where water will drain in the event of rain and avoid settling in a spot where water may pool.
Your health and safety are of the utmost importance throughout the Sleep Out – if you, or anyone else, starts to feel ill at any point, please go back indoors.
As this is an outdoor event, please be aware of the signs of hypothermia. There is information about hypothermia and what to do if you think someone is suffering here.