IT Industry’s biggest corporate ‘sleep out’ to take place on 4th October

Reading, UK, 03 May 2013; Leading businesses and figure heads from Thames Valley will be joining forces for Byte Night, the IT industry’s annual ‘sleep out’ event in support of Action for Children. With 100,000 young people estimated to be homeless in the UK last year, the event encourages teams from the technology sector and supporting organisations to spend a night exposed to the elements raising funds to tackle the root causes of youth homelessness.

The Byte Night launch event will take place at 6.30pm on Thursday 9th May at the Reading offices of law firm, Boyes Turner and will include a special appearance from Reading Mayor, Jenny Rynn. The launch will see both first timers and Byte Night veterans come together to learn how they can get involved in this year’s event and learn how money raised will be used by Action for Children to help vulnerable young people across the UK. Guests will also be provided with further insight into what the event will entail through keynotes from supporters such as Microsoft, SAS and Oracle, as well as the chance to meet and network with peers from local technology and IT companies.

The main event will take place on Friday 4th October at Forbury Gardens, where the big sleep will take place. This will be the sixth anniversary of the Thames Valley event, which successfully raised £162,000 for Action for Children last year.

Sally Hanson, Marketing Communications Director for SAS and Co-Chair of the Thames Valley Byte Night Board, comments: “Byte night has become a renowned event in the technology community, providing businesses with the chance to make a difference to young people in need, whilst also benefiting from excellent networking opportunities. I’m proud to see so many businesses in the Thames Valley getting involved for such a fantastic cause and we urge more to join us. By simply giving up our beds for just one night, we can make that important difference to children’s lives. Byte Night has raised an incredible £5.2 million since starting in 1998 and we need more involvement this year to reach our £1 million target.”

Rebecca Corke, Head of Customer and Partner Satisfaction at Microsoft and also a Byte Night board member, added “100,000 young people across the UK experience homelessness each year, and of those, one in three will attempt suicide and one in seven will be physically or sexually assaulted. By raising money for Action for Children, Byte Night can help ensure these young people are given the support they need before it's too late. Join us at the launch event to find out what an amazing event it is to be part of!”

Byte Night ‘sleep outs’ will take place across the UK on 4th October in Belfast, Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, London and Manchester. To attend the Byte Night 2013 Thames Valley launch event please email [email protected] or visit  http://www.bytenight.org.uk for event details and registration. For press enquiries please contact Liam Britnell at Berkeley PR on 01189 090909 or email [email protected].