Every year, Vinnies CEO Sleepout is being conducted to draw attention to the need of Australia's Homeless. Yearly, business leaders and CEO of different big companies experience what it is to be homeless as they sleep out in the streets.

For this year, the sleepout will be held tomorrow night, Thursday, June 20, at 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh.

According to the event's official website, "There are more than 100,000 Australians who find themselves homeless each night of the year. Just under half of these are women; a quarter are under the age of 18."

The Australian Bureau of Statistics, on the other hand, reported that there are 105,237 Australians in 2011 without a fixed address while Wesley Mission report Homelessness and the Next Generation said that there were 6813 Australian families compelled to live on the streets.

More than the experience, the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, "is a unique way for business leaders to raise awareness and important funds in support of essential homeless services across the country."

The event "looks forward to rising the challenge of homelessness together in 2013."

One of the CEOs participating in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout is pharmacist and APHS Packaging CEO Cathie Reid. In an interview with Pharmacy News, Mr. Reid said that the sleepout was important to her because she represents the pharmacy industry and health sectors. As one group, Ms. Reid said that they all want to raise awareness of homelessness in Australia.

Ms. Reid said, "Doing the Vinnies CEO Sleepout last year really opened my eyes to the growing number of homeless people in Brisbane - in particular, the growing number of women and children who find themselves in circumstances where they have no roof of their head."

Meanwhile, The Canberra Times followed Minister for Education and Training Joy Burch as she shops for second-hand clothes to wear for her fourth time participation at the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. For this year, her mission is not just to experience what it is like to be sleeping out in the streets but also to experience what it feels like wearing clothes that the homeless wears.

"I said I should be able to deck myself out for less than $50 and I have. It's come to $46. The sleepout is certainly an uncomfortable experience though, of course, everyone who does it knows that they're going to be able to go home at six in the morning for a hot shower and other comforts, And of course, for the genuinely homeless that's not possible. But perhaps the sleepout does give you a window into the world of the homeless. But the reality for them, having to back up again on a cold day, not knowing if they're going to have any breakfast or even any coffee, it is very hard for us to imagine. Which is why, to help try to imagine it, some of us do the sleepout."

For Ms. Burch, the sleepout made her think and look at things differently. During her first experience of sleepout, she made used of discarded washing machine boxes as her makeshift tent and shelter against the rain.

Last year, Ms. Burch was able to raise $485,000 which was donated to 1800 homeless women and young indigenous Australians.

Kath Purkis, the 27-year-old entrepreneur and founder of fashionbox.com admits to being a first-timer to the event. Nevertheless, she expressed much enthusiasm and positivity for the sleepout tomorrow.

In an interview with 2day Newsfeed.com, Ms. Purkis said that, "The idea of having leaders and CEO's from all different industries coming together for one event that supports a great cause, for me it was a no brainer. There are obviously a lot of things you can do as a business leader, but there is nothing more powerful than bringing all the business leaders for such a great cause... It's all about awareness and through something such as the CEO sleepout we have a great shot of getting the message out there, 100 or a thousand heads are better than two alone."