The sleepout is being organised by Nuala Malone and Shaun McGlynn of Profitness in Ballybofey.

“I remember when I was young homelessness was something really rare that you’d only encounter occasionally when you made a trip to Dublin,” said Nuala.

“But now it’s become a huge problem all over the country. There are over 8,000 homeless people in Ireland today, more than 2,000 of them children. And it’s not their fault, it could happen to anyone. All it takes in some cases is a lost job or a relationship break-up to put someone in a situation where they can’t make the rent or pay the mortgage. Myself and Shaun just felt that we wanted to do something to raise money and to raise awareness, especially in the run up to Christmas.”

The sleepout will take place in Harrold’s Yard on the Glenfin Road where Shaun’s Profitness Gym is located. The organisers say they hope to raise between €5,000 and €10,000 for Focus Ireland.

Shaun McGlynn said, “The response has been great both in terms of people donating money and people volunteering to sleep out themselves.”

Encouraging people to get behind the sleepout and donate whatever they can, Nuala added, “I imagine it will be a cold night but no matter how uncomfortable it is we all get to go back home to our warm houses the next day.

“There are too many people in this country that are outside all night every night and these are the people that urgently need our help, Focus

Ireland’s help and, most importantly, more help from the government in solving the homelessness crisis.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to allow people to donate. It can be accessed by going to www.gofundme.com and searching for ‘Sleepout Charity Fundraiser Donegal’.

“Donating takes less than a minute – literally just a click of a button. Please, please, please contribute to this worthy cause,” added the organisers.

For more information Nuala can also be reached on her Facebook page, Nuala Gallinagh Malone.