Alice, 11, to spend night under the stars at the Stadium of Light to help the homeless

Alice Carruthers will be joining her parents Kat and Michael Carruthers at the annual CEO Sleepout in Sunderland from 8pm on Thursday November 6 until 6am the following morning.

Alice will not only be bedding down in a sleeping bag outdoors to raise money for people affected by homelessness, but she will also be capturing every moment using her journalistic skills as part of the Junior Journalism programme at NetWORK NotWORK CIC.

The budding journalist said: “My mantra is ‘struggling is growing’. I was born prematurely, which brought some challenges like hearing loss and tunnel vision, but it’s also made me stronger.

“School hasn’t always been easy, and I’ve often had to work harder to keep up, but I’ve learned that struggling means growing.

“A big part of my journey has been joining Junior Journalism, a place that gives young people like me a voice and a safe space to learn and share.

“It has helped me build confidence, develop new skills and realise that my story matters. I may have challenges, but I also have dreams – and I’m proud of who I am.”

The CEO Sleepout is a national charity, founded in Teesside, which was set up to inspire the business community to unite to fight homelessness and raise money for frontline support services.

Through the charity’s annual national sleep out events, including here in Sunderland, an impressive £5.5m has been raised to support homeless people and the services which support them.

Junior Journalism is one of the strands of NetWORK NotWORK, a community interest company founded by Alice’s mum and dad, Kat and Michael Carruthers.

The company aims to make networking “more fun, promote business growth, and create an empowered intergenerational community”.

It has seven networking groups across the North-east in Stockton, Redcar, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle.

You can still register for the Sunderland Sleep Out via the charity’s website.