On Thursday 16 April 2026, senior leaders from across the region will gather at Pittodrie Stadium for CEO Sleepout Aberdeen.

The event challenges participants to give up their beds for one night to help shine a light on the realities of homelessness and housing insecurity experiences that are often hidden, misunderstood, or overlooked.

It follows last year’s remarkable success, after more than £72,000 was raised, the highest CEO Sleepout total outside London.

CEO Sleepout will support three local organisations providing vital frontline services across the North‑East:

• Aberdeen Cyrenians
• Aberdeen Foyer
• Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust (AFCCT)

While the experience of sleeping out cannot replicate the trauma, fear, or precarity of homelessness, it offers participants a brief window into the circumstances faced daily by thousands of people across Scotland. The night is an opportunity for business leaders to reflect, learn, and contribute to positive change.

Henrietta MacEwen, partnerships specialist, CEO Sleepout, said: “CEO Sleepout Aberdeen’s achievement in its inaugural year in 2025 was extraordinary.

“Beyond the impressive fundraising total, what mattered most was the commitment shown by local leaders to understanding homelessness in all its forms – rough sleeping, sofa surfing, hidden homeless, and the growing number of working people facing poverty and insecurity. We’re looking forward to welcoming even more participants this year to stand with us and support the incredible work of our charity partners.”

Donna Hutchison, CEO, Aberdeen Cyrenians, added: “Last year’s Sleepout created conversations that mattered, about what homelessness really looks like, who it affects, and why it happens. It brought people together with compassion, humility, and a shared determination to do better. Aberdeen Cyrenians is proud to be part of this event again. For us, it’s about more than one night: it’s about building understanding and action that lasts long after the sleeping bags are packed away.”

Leona McDermid, CEO, Aberdeen Foyer, said: “Taking part in the 2025 Sleepout was a powerful experience. The warmth shown by participants, not just toward one another but toward the cause, was deeply encouraging. Youth homelessness is complex, and often invisible. Events like this help break down stigma and open up the honest conversations we need to create lasting change.”

Peter Davidson, CEO, Aberdeen FC Community Trust, said: “The Sleepout is about more than raising funds, important as that is. It’s about shining a light on the realities of homelessness in our communities and encouraging honest conversations about why it happens.

“Co-hosting the event with Aberdeen FC at Pittodrie, a place that means so much to so many, allows AFCCT and our charity partners to bring people together through football, raise awareness, and turn that collective support into real, lasting impact across the work we do.”

Whether you join as an individual or rally colleagues to form a team, your participation helps raise vital funds and challenge the misconceptions that surround homelessness. It’s a chance for Aberdeen’s business community to stand together in support of those experiencing hardship.

Join here.