HARRISON, N.J. (October 21, 2015) – The Red Bulls, along with Covenant House and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey held the second annual Sleep Out at Red Bull Arena. In total, the Sleep Out raised more than $81,000 for the homeless youth at Covenant House with numbers continuing to climb.
Those funds will teach 80 kids how to write a resume, learn interview skills and obtain a job, providing 80 youths the chance for a fresh start. Last year the Sleep Out raised $88,000, bringing totals close to $170,000 raised in its two editions.
“The importance of sleeping out is to bring awareness to homeless kids and Covenant House which is an amazing organization that has a holistic approach to helping the kids,” said Kim Marsch, wife of Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch who participated in the sleep out.
“[Covenant House] not just gives them food and shelter, they give them tools to go out and live productive lives and have hopes and dreams so I totally support it.”
Mrs. Marsch, who was partaking in her first sleep out, worked to raise thousands for the cause.
“I don’t like asking for anything from anybody so asking for money was hard, but it wasn’t after I toured some of the facilities and some of the homes,” Mrs. Marsch said. “It inspired me to go out and raise money for them so I talked to friends, I emailed friends, I called to people I hadn’t talked to in a while and told them about the program and I was shocked at how much money came in relatively quickly so I think people understood that it’s a worthwhile and amazing organization.”
Jesse Marsch, who attended with opening ceremonies with his young son Lennon, also acknowledged the importance of donating and raising awareness for the homeless.
“Covenant House is something that’s dear to our family,” Mr. Marsch said. “My wife was a social worker and helped with young adults transitioning from social programs into the real world so we’ve been a part of programs like this in the past and the work that they do at Covenant House is amazing. My wife’s sleeping out tonight, but it’s good to be here and meet some of the people that are benefiting from this program.”
“It raises good money for Covenant House, but I think it’s really important for people to understand what it’s like to sleep on the streets and what a lot of people go through,” Mr. Marsch continued.
“There’s a large percentage of people in this country that don’t have a lot of the privileges that the rest of us have…any chance we have to really live in their shoes and experience what they go through benefits our overall perspective and our ability to help them out in any way we can I think is really important so my family and I are here tonight to support this cause.”
All together, the Sleep Out lasted from 7 p.m. on Friday, and ended at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. The evening began with dinner, followed by a brief presentation about Covenant House and what it’s like to be homeless. The sleepers were then broken into two groups and listened to a panel of youth groups, who told of their experiences.
Afterwards, it was time to sleep out.
“Downstairs underneath the stadium is where we will be giving them a sleeping bag and a cardboard box, and they have the pavement to sleep on,” said Wayne Paglieri, Development Manager at Covenant House. “It’ll be a little colder tonight than it has been so it’s going to be challenging for people to sleep out, but for us who are sleeping out, fortunately it’s only for one night. For our youth, it’s many nights that they have to sleep out.”
More than 80 participants slept outside near Gate B at Red Bull Arena. Using only a cardboard box and a sleeping bag, the sleepers stayed outside for about six hours to raise awareness for Covenant House and homeless youth.
“It’s been so wonderful working with the Red Bulls,” Paglieri continued. “So many in the organization have great things to say about Covenant House and they’re so good work with…their work to make this all come together has been pretty special.”
About Covenant House
Our job is to protect the rights of young people, to fight for these rights, to speak for those who have no voice of their own. Covenant House doesn't forget about all the kids who are no longer here because no one cared – we hold their memory in our hearts while moving forward in our efforts to help all the scared and lonely kids who are still out there waiting.
Homeless kids have rights. They have the right to a home, the right to food, the right to guidance and an education. They have the right to be free from sexual, emotional, or physical abuse and the right to be free from exploitation. These kids have the right to be safe and – most important – to be loved.
Covenant House is dedicated to serving all children with absolute respect and unconditional love, to help suffering homeless kids, and to protect and safeguard all children in need.
For more information or to donate, visit CovenantHouse.org.
