Sleeping under stars at Piece Hall in aid of homeless charity

Happy Days is cycling 350 miles over the course of six days in a bid to raise £10,000 for the homeless, stopping at The Piece Hall on their way to Leeds.

Cycling up to 75 miles per day, the cyclists will tour some of the UK’s most prolific areas for homelessness, taking shelter on the streets in Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Stoke, Liverpool and their home town of Halifax before reaching the finish line in Leeds on Thursday 1 February.

Dave Fawcett, CEO of Happy Days said: “We set up Happy Days in 2014, and since then have gone on to help a huge amount of people find a home, and even get back in to the workforce.”

“Everybody taking part in this ride has a huge love and passion to change lives and improve local communities. Whether it’s raising money, volunteering or just changing attitudes towards homelessness, I hope we inspire as many people as possible over the coming days. Anybody can be a victim of bad circumstances, but it can be so simple and easy to make a difference in someone’s life who needs it the most.”

Happy Days Ministries is based in Sowerby Bridge and provides essential services to those suffering from homelessness and addiction in their area. As well as these services, their social enterprises include a cycling shop, café and a building company.

Throughout the ride, Dave and the Happy Days team will meet with mayors and city officials, providing public talks each night to help raise awareness and give local people information on how they can get involved in their communities.

On the final night, January 31 the Happy Days team have extended an open invitation for those wishing to raise money themselves. The iconic Piece Hall in Halifax will hold a mass sleep out to demonstrate the effects and dangers of sleeping rough.

Chief executive Nicky Chance-Thompson, who will be joining the Happy Days team for The Piece Hall mass sleep out, said: “I’m delighted that The Piece Hall is hosting the Happy Days group on the final night of their ride from London to Leeds. Homelessness is not only a huge national issue but a local one too, and The Piece Hall Trust is very pleased to help raise awareness of this issue, and to support such a great local homelessness and addiction charity.”

For more information on how to get involved, or to donate, visit www.localgiving.org/fundraising/happydayssleepingrough/.