The Brick is inviting the community to come together once again for the Big Back Garden Sleep, on Saturday 27 March, or over the Easter Holidays, to raise much-needed funds for those facing poverty due to the pandemic.

Over the last 12 months, there has been an unprecedented need for the charitys services, due to the increase in the number of families and individuals facing poverty or financial uncertainty. The charity has experienced an 142% increase in demand for emergency food parcels over the last 12 months, 37% being distributed for children, and a significant upturn in calls to the helpline looking for support during these extremely difficult times.

During the 3 lockdowns, the charity has closed its retail shops in Wigan and Leigh and the majority of The Bricks regular fundraising activities have been cancelled. As a result, the Brick is calling for the community to come together to help raise £10,000 which will enable the charity to continue to provide the emergency food parcels and emergency accommodation that are needed now more than ever before.

The Brick is inviting people to come together on Saturday 27 March, or over the Easter Holidays, for the Big Back Garden Sleep. Whether people want to camp out in their back garden, create a den, or even sleep in a treehouse, the community are invited to join The Brick to raise as much money as they can for those in the community facing poverty.

Louise Green, CEO at The Brick, said: Over recent years we have held annual sleep outs in Wigan. Last year, we had to cancel the town centre sleepout and held the first Big Back Garden Sleep in April. We were humbled by how quickly the community came together and the £24,000 that was raised has helped The Brick to continue to provide support to the community, over the last 12 months".

This year we want to encourage even more families to join us to not only raise more money than last year but to have a wonderful night together. Our community has shown incredible support, to The Brick, over the last 12 months and without their help, we simply wouldn't be able to continue to support families facing poverty throughout the pandemic".

Our team of staff and volunteers at The Brick will be releasing a host of activities, games and fire pit recipes to make the evening a really special one for all who take part. All we ask is that those who join us for the Big Back Garden Sleep simply make a donation via our Just Giving page or raise sponsorship for sleeping outside for the night.

To join the Bricks Big Back Garden Sleep, people can register their interest on the Bricks Facebook page to ensure that they are notified when new activities are released: https://www.facebook.com/TheBrickWigan

Visit The Brick website for more information.