Club staff get ready for PNE sleep out event at Deepdale

Leanne Naylor and Janet McDonald are Matchday Supporter Liaison Officers, providing assistance to supporters attending home matches and are also regular travellers to the Lilywhites’ away matches, where they have held several charity collections on the supporters coaches.

They are now aiming to help the Sleep Out appeal, an event to tackle homelessness in Preston. A £50,000 fundraising target has been set, with all monies raised to be used by the Foxton Centre to buy and renovate a house in Preston for rough sleepers in the city.

Leanne said: “We saw the Big PNE Sleep Out advertised by Louis Moult and we sat down and chatted together and said, ‘Shall we give it a go?’ That was it, we just thought, ‘Let’s give it a go.”

Janet added: “We’re very fortunate in the job that we do and we wanted to support another charity, we thought this was an excellent one to support as two good friends.”

All taking part will bed down overnight on the concourse on the Bill Shankly Kop.

Leanne added: “I’m quite nervous, but we’re fortunate; we can go home and turn the heating and lights on. These people have to sleep like this every night. It’s not a party, far from it, it’s a serious night.”

Donations to the Sleep Out appeal will remain open after the event and you can now contribute to the appeal via text donation.

You can make a one-off donation to the appeal by texting ‘PNESLEEPOUT’, followed by any number between one and 20 depending on how much you wish to donate, to 70085.

For example, if you wish to donate £5, you would text ‘PNESLEEPOUT 5’ to 70085, or ‘PNESLEEPOUT 20’ to donate £20.

Alternatively, make a donation online by visiting the appeal here