Local execs will spend night on Germantown streets to support homeless youths

As the sun sets Thursday night, local CEOs and executives will exchange the comforts of home for one night of living on Germantown streets to support the Philadelphia chapter of Covenant House’s first-annual “Sleep Out” event.

Covenant Houses in 12 cities nationwide will raise awareness for the plight of homeless youth as more than 500 leaders in business, government and media stand in solidarity and pledge to raise $2.5 million.

“There are two million homeless kids in the U.S. in any given year, but they are largely invisible,” says Kevin Ryan, President of Covenant House, which provides 24/7 crisis care and ongoing support for homeless young people in need of a safe haven.

“The leaders participating in this Covenant House Sleep Out are sending a loud and clear message to homeless kids: That we stand with them in their struggles, and celebrate their courage, their resiliency and their dreams for a better life,” he continued of an event which launched in 2011.

Schedule and participants

The evening, designed to benefit homeless youths in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, will begin with a candlelight vigil followed by a youth story and roundtable discussion.

Then, the executives will take their cardboard and sleeping bags outside for their night on the streets.

Participating in the local event with at goal of raising $50,000 are Wil Reynolds of SEER Interactive, Scott Balestrier of KPMG, Heather Hansen of O’Brien and Ryan, Pastor Alyn Waller, from Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church and Frank McGrane of Citizens Bank.

For more information about the nationwide Sleep Out, go to www.thesleepout.org.

NewsWorks will cover the local event.

Oh, the low temperature is currently forecast to be 33 degrees, with a 10 percent chance of rain.