FAQs

You can choose to take part as an individual or team. Select your sleep out option and click ‘Sign Up’. Follow the prompts and you are ready to take part!

Yes absolutely – you can join an existing team, or create a team when registering.

Click ‘Sign Up’ and follow the prompts to fill out your individual information first. You will then be asked if you want to create a new team, or join a existing team.
Follow the prompts to set up a new team or search for an existing team. 

When creating a new team, you have two options for sharing:
1.    Yes - Allow anyone to join: this will add a join button on your team page allowing anyone to join your team
Or
2.    No – Members can join by your invite only. (If you select this option, your team will not appear as an option to search for joining an existing team). You can change these settings at any time from your dashboard.

The best way to get involved is to register as a team (by following the steps above) and do the sleep out together. Fundraising as a team is also a lot easier than as an individual.

Learn more about the different sleep outs:
- Business Leader Sleep Out
- Workplace Sleep Out
- School Sleep Out
- Community Sleep Out

We have prepared loads of useful resources to help you with your fundraising for Shine A Light. Check out all the resources on Resources page or e-mail us with any queries at shinealight@focusireland.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 ending homelessness. We are so grateful for all your effort and the most important thing is that you give your sleep out and fundraising 110%! You can also check our resources section for some fundraising tips.

Well done on reaching your target and keep up the good work! You can easily increase your target on your fundraising page. When you log in, please go to your Dashboard and click on ‘Edit my Page’. You can change your fundraising target to the amount you choose and then click on ‘Update details’ to save your changes.

Yes absolutely! Your individual team members’ fundraising will be added to your team page and your supporters can also donate directly to your team.

We work with a fundraising platform called Funraisin to help with our online fundraising. When you register for Shine A Light, a fundraising page will be created for you, and you can share your fundraising page with your supporters by email, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. Your supporters can click on the link and pay online to your page. Your supporters can also search for your fundraising page here.

Great news! You can add any additional physical donations to your Fundraisin page directly from your personal dashboard by selecting ‘Bank my funds’ 

Any cash or cheque donations can also be sent to Focus Ireland’s address below. Please make sure you include your name and reference that your donation is for Shine A Light. 

Focus Ireland – Shine A Light 
9 – 12 High Street 
Christchurch 
Dublin 8 

We recommend taking lots of photos from throughout Shine A Light to share with your sponsors during and after the sleep out. You can share updates on your fundraising page or share on your own social media channels.

If you can, it is best to sleep outside and brave the elements for the night! If you do not have an outside place at your home, community venue or workplace, you can always sleep inside on your living room floor, office meeting room, or bedroom floor. Please ensure your sleep out spot is safe and secure, and that you have access to bathroom facilities. Please do not sleep in a public place for your health & safety.

Business Leader Sleep Out

There will be official sleep out events in Cork and Dublin: 

Venues: 
Dublin - TU Dublin Grangegorman
Cork - Cork City Gaol

Workplace Sleep Out 

Location: We recommend sleeping out with your colleagues on the grounds of your workplace – this could be in your workplace’s car park, in the gardens, or even in the office itself.

Official event venues: 
Dublin – Leinster Cricket Club 
Cork - Cork City Gaol

School Sleep Out 

Location: We recommend hosting your School Sleep Out on your school grounds – this could be your school car park, your school hall, your sports pitch, or even your classroom!

Community Sleep Out 

Location: There are lots of options to choose from to host your sleep out in your local community, such as in your community centre or local sports club, or check out if there is an official event near you. If you’re not up for joining a community event, you could even host a sleep out with some friends, family, or even by yourself! Some location ideas for this would be in your garden, kitchen, or another room in your home. 

Venues: Join the organised sleep out at the Crescent Shopping Centre, Limerick!

On Friday 11 October, people across the country will come together to sleep out against homelessness. This event is a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness and much-needed funds to support thousands of people experiencing homelessness.

Official Event
The official events will offer a unique experience, combining the sleep out with valuable networking opportunities, inspiring speakers, and the chance to connect in iconic venues. Participants will learn about homelessness in Ireland, the work Focus Ireland does, and the important role businesses can play in combatting homelessness. After official proceedings, participants will complete the sleep out as part of a nationwide movement to end homelessness. It will be an unforgettable night, but more importantly, a crucial step in Ireland’s collective fight against homelessness.

Host Your Own
Customise your night to fit your needs with our ‘Host Your Own’ guides, which include an event plan example. This event plan example provides more information on setup, event briefing, registration, a presentation, a talk on the importance of the sleep out, activities, and of course, the sleep out itself! We strongly recommend participating in some of Focus Ireland’s online activities to learn more about our work and the impact you are making by being part of Shine A Light. The online program will feature talks from Focus Ireland staff and customers with lived experiences, available live on the morning of October 11.

Community Organised
We are thrilled to have the support of The Crescent Shopping Centre, which will be hosting a local Community Sleep Out. Stay tuned for more information!

There are no scheduled activities on the morning after the sleep out. We suggest you spend some time reflecting on what you learned and experienced overnight and share your reflections with your supporters. Don’t forget to share your accomplishment and ask for any last-minute donations to reward your amazing efforts!

Official Event   

Events are for registered participants only. Please do not invite friends, family (including children), or colleagues, or bring your pets to the event. However, we do encourage you to recruit other senior business leaders or colleagues to register for the event. 

Workplace 

Please check with the organiser of your sleep out event. We would also encourage you to recruit other people to register and fundraise. 

Host Your Own 

Participants organising their own sleep out are encouraged to have family and friends join them – it’s a great opportunity to engage in a conversation about what poverty and homelessness look like in our country. 

Yes - Shine A Light takes place on Friday, 11 October, and we are excited about recreating the special sense of connectedness we experience on #ShineALight this year. Having the event on one night allows business leaders, companies, schools, and communities to come together and help raise vital funds for people experiencing homelessness. It also sends a message of hope to people experiencing homelessness and allows us all to come together in solidarity to show that homelessness is wrong.

The weather will be cold and potentially wet so make sure you are prepared by checking off the following kit list:

• Sleeping bag – a 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 (and a battery pack)

We would like you to remain outside wherever possible, providing you’re not putting your health at risk. Top tips for staying dry include using cardboard, sleeping close to buildings to get some shelter, and using waterproof sleeping bags.  

Your health and safety are the most important things during the sleep out so please use your own judgement and go indoors if the weather is particularly bad. 

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 recommend joining us from your own location such as your home, school, 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 and that you’ve conducted a thorough risk assessment ahead of the event night.

Your health and safety are the most important thing during 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.

Your health and safety are the most important thing during 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.