Our third annual "Sleep Out for Bethlehem House" is fast approaching. Look for information and registration details soon.

In the meantime, here are some thoughts by Donna Townsell regarding our past Sleep Outs.

Over dinner with my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, early in 2003, we decided that a "sleep-out" to raise awareness and empathy for homeless families would be an excellent signature event for the shelter. Bethlehem House, Inc. is not one of the most visible United Way organizations in Conway. We haven't traditionally held the big dinner/auction fundraisers that other groups do. We needed something that people would associate with the shelter, and we wanted it to be fun, meaningful, and at the heart of its purpose. Thus, the "cardboard box" Sleep Out was born.

The first Sleep Out was planned rather quickly. We held it in Simon Park in June 2003. We had several people come out for dinner and music, and about 35 of them spent the night under the stars. It succeeded in raising awareness, and donations starting arriving the next week. The Board of Directors actually deemed it a success since we did raise a little money. And, having a competitive nature, I couldn't stop there. The second annual Sleep Out was held May 7th, 2004. If you couldn't make it, you sure missed a wonderful evening! The weather was perfect, the crowd really grew, and approximately 125 people slept in boxes. WOW! What an enormous growth rate from one year to the next! So, I guess you know what this means! How big will it be next year? If you joined us at Laurel Park this year, we truly appreciate your participation and hope you enjoyed yourself. File this away in your mind for next year. We will be back, we will learn from our past events, and we will make it even better!

We look forward to seeing you in the park!