FEATURE
Helping the homeless – CEO Sleepout has raised more than £ 4.6m since its inception .
“ I always try to think – that person on the street might have been you or me . They might have had the same hopes and expectations , but it just didn ’ t happen .”
Bianca met her future husband Greg at an office party . When she fell pregnant , the couple moved to New Zealand for family support . By then , her parents had separated and Bianca and Greg moved onto a homestead her mother had just bought , helping to turn it into a working vineyard , café and bed-and-breakfast .
After two years , they returned to England and settled in Saltburn , a few miles from where Greg grew up in New Marske . The couple parted 19 years ago , when their twin girls , Amber and Isobel , were five , but they remain friends .
From her Saltburn base , Bianca worked in sales for radio and newspapers before moving into advertising agencies . That led to her becoming a shareholder in software company Calm Digital , based in Middlesbrough ’ s Boho One building .
Andy Preston , chair of Teesside Philanthropic Foundation at the time , was also running a business in Boho One . He had the idea for the first CEO Sleepout , at Middlesbrough ’ s Riverside stadium in 2013 , and asked Bianca to get involved .
“ It was the longest night , with the cold coming up through the ground into your bones . The snoring was off the scale , but the fun and camaraderie got us through ,” she laughs .
People are falling through the cracks , and the need is greater than ever , so we need to keep growing at a manageable pace .”
“ I told Andy , ‘ This has definitely got legs ’. It was an eye-opener that unlocked a deeper understanding of homelessness .”
The idea gained momentum and , by 2017 , there were CEO Sleepouts in Middlesbrough , Newcastle , Manchester , London and Nottingham , but Andy had ambitions to go further afield – so he called Bianca , saying he needed someone to drive his idea forward .
By then , she was freelancing as ‘ The Digital Catalyst ’ as well as lecturing in marketing , but the chance to become involved in such an exciting new charity proved irresistible .
“ Andy had done an incredible job to build it up and deserves huge credit for having the vision . He saw it as his own version of levelling up – he just wanted to make a
18 | Tees Business