Kosher sleepout
CEOs spent a night experiencing how it feels to be homeless across the nation last night…and the facilities to feed them in Sydney were provided by the Chabad’s Our Big Kitchen.
Federal MP Malcolm Turnbull tweets his appreciation of OBK
As they tucked into their soup and bread rolls, the leaders of Australian industry and commerce have raised almost $5 million to fund the St Vincent de Paul Society in their efforts to alleviate the hardships experienced by the homeless.
Among those experiencing the sleep-out at the Carriageworks in Redfern were CBA CEO Ian Nerev and Daviv Schlessinger of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce.
Each of the 278 captains of industry who participated had canvassed friends and associates for sponsorship with Narev headingthe pack by raising an astonishing $167,000.
CEO of Our Big Kitchen Rabbi Dovid Slovin, helped by Rabbi Yossi Segelman, dished out both Kosher and non-Kosher soups. He told J-Wire: “We were responsible for making the food happen. The non-Kosher beef soup was provided by Campbells but we made pumpkin and potato and leek soup at Our Big Kitchen in Bondi which were very popular.”
The sleep-out was well-patronised by members of the Jewish community who shared with the other executives, including Malcolm Turnbull, the experience of listening to talks by the genuinely homeless relating as to how it feels to have to spend every night on the streets. They then bedded down in their sleeping bags to spend one of the coldest nights of the year under cover but in the open.
More than 100,000 Australians are homeless.
