A team of five EML Wildfire employees has signed up to ‘sleep out’ at Byte Night 2012, the IT industry’s annual charity event in support of Action for Children. For the past 15 years, technology and business professionals sleep rough for a night to raise funds for the charity that combats youth homelessness in local communities. Each team aims to raise £5000 for this amazing cause.

Action for Children helps young people who face a life on the streets due to family breakups, unemployment or rejection. Volunteers work on the ground to temporarily house homeless youths and help them find jobs, schools, and most importantly, a roof over their head. Research shows that around two million children live in poverty all across the UK – and economic depression has served to increase the number of young people at risk of becoming homeless in the last few years.

Since its inception in 1998, Byte Night has raised around £4.3 million pounds for this great cause, and the 2012 team is aiming to bump this figure up to £5 million after this year’s event. Around 800-900 people from all kinds of technology related professions will be sleeping on the banks of the Thames for one night in a bid to achieve this goal, in honour of the very people they are raising money for.

Running up to the event, the EML Wildfire sleepers will also be arranging a number of fundraising events and schemes to help hit their £5000 target. Your donation could be the difference that means one homeless youth gets a bed for the night, a set of clean clothes, or a hot meal – all the things we take for granted, that some people simply can’t guarantee having.

Every little helps and, with a few clicks, you can make a real difference to a homeless youth’s life, and help us combat poverty and homelessness in the UK.