You might remember Billy Thompson from our social media and news stories last year. Billy is a lovely teen who decided to sleep outside in a tent to raise money for Emmaus Leeds.
He has been sleeping in a tent for coming up to two years and has raised over £3000 for us. To celebrate his amazing achievement we asked Billy to come to Emmaus Leeds to have a look around see what goes on here and how we help people who have experienced homelessness. He was also able to meet one of our previous companions, Andy, who has been helped by Billy’s fundraising efforts.
Andy gave Billy a tour of our building in Leeds and they both shared stories of sleeping out in a tent in bad weather.
Andy said: “There should be more people in the world like Billy.” He said the 13-year-old had “a heart of gold” for thinking about rough sleepers.
When Billy was asked how he felt about raising so much money, he said: “Amazing, and most of it has been from people I don’t know but who want to help me.”
Billy said he felt encouraged after visiting Emmaus Leeds and was determined to continue sleeping outside for another year to raise more money.
He said: “I just want to be a good person. It makes me feel happy to know they might not feel so alone when they come here and get support.”
You can watch the touching moment Billy and Andy met here.
Donate to Billy’s fundraiser here.