In the glowering shadow of London’s Tower Bridge, several members of CompTIA’s UK Channel Community volunteered to do what thousands of homeless youngsters have to do every night: sleep outside, at the mercy of the elements. But this was no ordinary night. It was Byte Night, an event that prompted more than 1,300 business and technology professionals in eight UK locations to sleep outside on 3 October.
Byte Night raises funds for Action for Children, one of the UK’s top 20 mass participation charity events and its largest charity sleep-out. Action for Children has raised more than £15m — $9.9 million — since its first event in 1998, and Action for Children now supports more than 350,000 people and families every year — including 80,000 young homeless.
This year, CompTIA’s UK Community donated £7,500 ($12,000) to the cause. Each year, CompTIA member communities make donations to deserving IT-related charities. Money for the donations comes from the Creating IT Futures Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CompTIA.
Byte Night is just one fixture in the program of donations and charitable works that CompTIA’s member communities are involved in. The money raised will be used, amongst other purposes, to fund secure accommodation, education and training opportunities for those young people most in need, helping them to achieve their potential in the future.
This emphasis on equipping people with the knowledge and skills to succeed makes Byte Night a fitting cause for both the UK Channel Community and the wider CompTIA organization, said Vaughan Shayler, director of CompTIA’s channel strategy — and one of the many souls who found out just what it's like trying to sleep outdoors in early October with just a sleeping bag for protection.
“Access to learning resources and expertise has always been at the heart of CompTIA’s approach to raising standards in the industry,” he said. “If that same approach can help transform the fortunes of the most vulnerable in our society, then it deserves our wholehearted support.”
CompTIA’s Member Communities form the foundation of the association’s initiatives; programs, education and research, and they work together on the issues and opportunities that shape the future of the IT industry. But, clearly, they’re also determined to support deserving causes outside the industry as well. So will they be at Byte Night 2015, too?
“Put it this way,” said Shayler, “This time next year, CompTIA’s UK Channel Community is on track to have grown significantly. I think we may need more sleeping bags.”
Learn more about CompTIA's UK Community, and read about how Creating IT Futures provide educational, training and certification opportunities to those lacking opportunity and in need of upwardly mobile career options.
