BRAVING a night under the stars, a team from Maples Day Nursery in Winchester ‘slept rough’ to help raise vital funds for Bliss, the leading UK charity for babies born premature or sick.

Colleagues from the award-winning Winchester nursery were in high spirits after learning they had raised a total of £411 for the charity Bliss, who support babies born premature or unwell.

Team leaders, Holly Davis and Lorna Ulrich from Maples Day Nursery, in Hatherley Road, slept outside Cedar Park Day Nursery in Twyford on flattened cardboard. The charitable team were in their sleeping bags from 6pm until 8am at the beginning of July, as part of company wide event that saw a collective total of £15,000 raised by the Childbase Partnership.

The partnership is employee owned and covers 45 day nurseries in the south of England, with 135 of their staff members taking part in the fundraising event.

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Manager of Maples Day Nursery, Sian Murphy said: "They enjoyed the experience and found it very humbling with only a few hours sleep as it was so cold."

As well as raising money for Bliss, the organisation donated £1,500 from their Charity Support Fund, £10 for each individual that took part, which was then rounded up and donated to homeless charity Crisis as part of the sixth company ‘Sleep Out’ initiative.

Maples Day Nursery Practitioner, Holly Davis said: “To be in a position to help two incredible causes is a great motivator. One cold, uncomfortable night is nothing really when you consider what these charities can do with the money and the fact that we are all going home to safe, dry and comfortable beds.”

The team passed the hours by playing card games and toasting marshmallows, whilst planning new and interesting summer activities for the children in their care.

The charity Bliss, which supports premature and sickly, new-born babies and their families, was chosen in a company-wide vote as the focus for a year-long fundraising drive by all of the Childbase Partnership day nurseries and Head Office.

Last year’s annual drive raised a record £240,000 for Cancer Research UK.

The Childbase Partnership was rated as the UK’s best large company to work for in 2020 and the second best for 2021 by 'best companies' who works to recognise and improve great workplace engagement.

Recently, Maples Day Nursery staff celebrated National Employee Ownership Day after their company once again ranked highly in UK best work place tables.

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