Fatima Halloum
As Melbourne weather continues to rampage, cold and unrelenting, Brendon Considine will join hundreds of people willingly spending a night without shelter, on Thursday, June 23.
The Vinnies CEO Sleepout invites leaders in business, community and government to experience a sleep in the cold to support Australians struggling with homelessness.
Mr Considine is the managing director of Secon Freight Logistics in Truganina and has been involved in the sleepout since 2015.
“My brother passed away the year before, he was the CEO at the time,” Mr Considine said.
“I saw that being advertised and I knew that Terry was the sort of guy that would have taken that on board.”
The loss of his brother devastated Mr Considine, who believes family is integral to “everything that we do”.
“I know that good families out there, through bad fortune, bad luck, can fall through these cracks,” he said.
“Looking after each other is so important…it’s to your fellow human beings and we have that empathy.”
Participating individuals are expected to raise a minimum of $5000 and the overall funds are then used to help Vinnies maintain their local, volunteer-run services.
“The CEO Sleepout is the flagship to get a lot of money together to help the people that need it the most,” Mr Considine said.
“For me, it’s one day of the year, if you can’t do that for one day of the year, when people are doing it day in day out…it just reinforces the need to support Vinnies.”
Mr Considine said instead of “just having a CEO do it” the company was all about getting more people involved.
This will be the first year his nephew, Daniel Considine will be participating in the sleepout.
“I’ve seen the directors who happen to be my uncles and my father participate for many years now and to be invited by them is humbling and at the same time an honour to do it with them,” Daniel said.
“I think it just gives another perspective to life, but we go home and we have the comforts of shelter, food, each and every day. We probably take that for granted.
“This just sheds another light on how many others live in our society, and it really does open your eyes and makes you very grateful for what you have,” he said.
Details:www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/seconfreightlogistics2022
