Melbourne philanthropist and entrepreneur Chris Christofi will host the fifth and final Lead With Kindness gala later this month.
The black-tie event at The Glasshouse in Melbourne on May 30 will mark the culmination of a long-running mission to support Australians experiencing homelessness.
Christofi, an official Vinnies Ambassador, has now raised over $1 million in total funds for the St Vincent de Paul Society, making him the highest active fundraiser in Vinnies CEO Sleepout history.
However, he is not finished yet. This year, he aims to raise a record $360,000 in a single campaign, with every dollar going directly to frontline support services.
“Homeless as it is on the rise and Victoria is the fastest growing state when it comes to homelessness,” Christofi told Neos Kosmos.
“Unfortunately we had the lowest participation rate (in the Vinnies Sleepout) from CEO’s last year which is actually a double whammy for our state but also for Australia.
“We live in such a lucky country and homelessness is on the rise and we shouldn’t have homelessness so it’s more important now than ever because obviously the cost of living is going up.”
Victoria has the highest rates nationally, with 987,000 people now at risk.
Recent data for Australia shows that 256,000 people are sleeping rough on any given night.
Three in give homeless people are female, with the fastest growing group being women over 55.
In fact, there has been a 55 per cent increase in women seeking homelessness support.
One in four are children, with more than 43,000 children not having a safe place to sleep.
Thirty-nine per cent of people seeking support are victims of family and domestic violence and the number of people at risk of homelessness has nearly doubled in five years.
Christofi’s campaign has grown in scale and ambition every year, and this year it coincides with his real estate company Reventon’s 20th anniversary and 20 years of the CEO Sleepout nationally.
It is also a milestone year for Christofi himself as he undertakes his eighth consecutive Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
Alongside the five years of Lead With Kindness events, his fundraising journey includes the sale of a fully furnished charity home in Mount Duneed for $840,00 and the donation of a $10,000 international speaking fee. These efforts have helped deliver real-world outcomes for nearly 300,000 Australians.
Christofi said he’s gone out and seen first hand the struggles people are living through.
“I’ve actually seen it… I’ve actually gone out because I like to understand more and more every year,” he said.
“One of my goals is to understand homelessness more and to be more immersed in exactly what’s going on so I can raise more awareness and more funds.”
Christofi is very proud of being the highest active fundraiser in Vinnies CEO Sleepout history and even more important to him is that his kids understand how important it is.
He said it’s become a tradition every around Christmas and New Year’s that they grab a group of cards and they all write a letter and put money. They buy food and hand it out and talk to people who experiencing homelessness to understand the importance of it.
Finally, his message ahead of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout next month.
“I just want to say, please any CEOs in Victoria or Australia come and do the sleepout with us. Help raise awareness. I just want to make sure people get behind it. If you don’t have money – share a message, if you’ve got money – please help us. It’s Vinnie’s biggest fundraiser of the year but I think a big part of is to also raise awareness that this is a big issue.”
