Thanks for joining us at Sleep Out Saturday!

It was cold. It was rainy. And it was a meaningful, life-changing experience for hundreds of participants across DuPage County as they joined us for the 15th Annual Sleep Out Saturday!

The evening kicked off with a high energy Rock Out for Sleep Out Rally, held for the first time at the rally’s new location of St. Luke’s Church in Glen Ellyn. Hundreds joined us for a fantastic concert by the School of Rock Elmhurst teens, which then led to the program hosted by Patrick Fazio of NBC5 Chicago.

Patrick began the impactful program, which included a presentation and video perspective of a homeless child, led by Diane Nilan of HEAR US Kids. Patty Gustin, city councilwoman in Naperville, joined us on stage to present Diane with a proclamation of November as Homeless Kids Awareness Month. We are grateful for Patty and Diane’s work in raising awareness of homeless families in our community!

Tony DeRiggi of Compass Mortgage, a Gold level sponsor of the event, also joined the stage to talk about Compass’ support of Bridge Communities, and to announce the winner of the night’s raffle: 4 tickets to Illuminations at the Morton Arboretum.

And, the rally capped off with a video featuring the story of Cassie, an inspiring Bridge Communities graduate. Cassie and her family then joined us on stage to talk about the impact that Sleep Out Saturday participants and donors make each and every day for Bridge families like hers!

Sleepers all then headed to their respective sleep out sites, and participated in activities, talks and more before huddling in their tents and boxes for the night. And they woke up with a deeper connection to Bridge Communities and the families they’re helping by fundraising, volunteering and sleeping out.

We appreciate you joining us and connecting homeless families to a better future!

Thank you to our Sleep Out Saturday 2018 Sponsors