Celebrities pledge support for Byte Night 2010

Emilia Fox, Duncan Bannatyne and Ben Fogle are among the celebrities who have pledged their support for this year’s Byte Night, the IT industry’s charity sleep out event in aid of Action for Children.

British television and film actress Emilia Fox will help launch a fundraising initiative later this month which is designed to raise the profile of the event, while Dragon’s Den’s Duncan Bannatyne is helping drive recruitment of Scottish business people in Edinburgh.
TV presenter Ben Fogle has also pledged his support for the IT-backed charity event, as has BBC newsreader and Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis.
The stars are among the growing list of high profile people supporting Byte Night 2010, the thirteenth sleep out in aid of youth homelessness. Actress Jenny Agutter, Byte Night’s long-standing celebrity ambassador, will once again bed down with the IT community on October 8 as she joins the event for eleventh time.
“I am delighted so many famous faces are lending their support this year,” says Ken Deeks, co-founder of Byte Night. “To be recognised by these household names demonstrates the worthiness of the cause and the importance of our plight. We hope that their involvement raises the profile of the sleep out and encourages more people to support Byte Night through donations or by registering to take part.

Championed and run by the tech sector, Byte Night has raised over £2.6m for vulnerable teenagers and young families around the UK. To date, more than 1,600 people have slept out with 700 taking part last year alone.

Since its inception in 1998, Byte Night has played a critical role in Action for Children’s ‘early intervention’ campaigns designed to halt cycles of deprivation which often lead to homelessness among young people. Money raised through Byte Night funds emergency accommodation for those who do end up on the streets, while donations also help run project centres around the UK which provide food, advice and training sessions for deprived, neglected and disillusioned young people.

Says Duncan Bannatyne: “Byte Night is a fantastic fundraiser supporting Action for Children’s crucial work with homeless young people. It’s wonderful to see so many busy business people giving up their precious time to help make Byte Night such a huge success.”
For further information about how you can get involved, please visit: http://www.bytenight.org.uk/