Stephanie Jones and family are taking action for the homeless this Christmas

A Preston family are preparing to spend a night sleeping on the streets to help the city’s homeless.

Stephanie Jones is wrapping up and taking her partner Anthony Harris to spread some Christmas cheer.

The 28-year-old who lives in Ashton-on-Ribble is raising money for the homeless in the city in conjunction with The Foxton Centre.

She said: “Christmas is a wonderful time of year and for those who know me personally you know just how much I love it.

“However, for some people it’s a cold, lonely and sad time.

“I like many people with this was something I could fix. I can’t, but what we can do is make sure the homeless of Preston have some essentials for winter and a little Christmas spirit.”

Money raised from the sleep-out, which has 15 people signed up to it, on Friday 2 December on Preston’s Covered Market is due to be put towards creating packs for the homeless which are to be handed out  from 20 December to 22 December. Any remaining packs are then to be handed out by the Foxton Centre.

Read more: Heartbreaking note shows a chink of kindness to homeless on Preston’s streets

Ms Jones said she had already received some very generous support, with Willy Banjos Preston donating sleeping bags, waterproof clothing and hoodies.

The business and social marketing development agent, originally from Penwortham, is not just looking for monetary donations but also donations of supplies for the packs.

She said: “Anything people can give would be appreciated. And if anyone wants to join us on Friday 2 December for the sleepout they are more than welcome to show their support. We’ve had a lot of people express an interest.”

So far more than £250 has been raised by Stephanie and her family through a Justgiving page.

What each pack for the city’s homeless will contain:

thermal hat & gloves
– scarf
– bottle of water
– wipes
– socks
– toothbrush & toothpaste
– snacks (breakfast bars etc)
– A Christmas treat
– female hygiene products (sanitary towels & wipes)
– Greggs gift voucher for hot drink
– reusable flask
– tissues
– lip barm
– information on shelters etc
– special dog packages for the homeless men & women with pets

How you can help

You can leave a donation on Stephanie’s Justgiving page. If you want to donate items directly you can contact Stephanie through Facebook.

You can also take items to the Plungington Community Centre on Sunday 11 December between 2pm and 4pm.

To join the sleep-out event you can subscribe to the Facebook event.