5 years ago... Technology bosses sleep rough for charity

22.09.98: IT experts raised £50,000 for a homeless children's charity in a sponsored sleep-out last Friday night. Each participant had to raise at least £2,000 by sleeping out in London's Finsbury Park.

Bill Bottriell of Computer Futures raised the most, collecting £11,000 through a combination of sponsorship and corporate donations.

Mike Morgan, MD of Computron Software Europe, explained why he was taking part. "House the Youth 2000 addresses the key concern that I have about modern society. Given the state of the economy, there is no need for anyone to be homeless, let alone the youth of tomorrow," he said.

The organisers, National Children's Homes (NCH) were delighted with the response: "We share a common deadline with the IT industry. They need to beat the millennium bug by 2000, and we want to deliver a blow against homelessness by then."

Other rough sleepers included Andy Palmer, UK MD of 3Com, and John Higgins, director-general of the Computer Services and Software Association.

NCH Action for Children plans to repeat the event next year.

22.09.03: Byte Night continues to go from strength to strength. The numbers have increased - both in terms of volunteers taking part and money raised - but the event and the charities concerned remain the same, six years on from the first time it was staged.

This year's event took place on Friday and organisers are confident that they will break the £1m mark with the total amount raised, bringing much needed support to charities battling the problem of youth homelessness. Read about this year's sterling effort, here.