13th annual Wheeling SleepOut coming in November

Wheeling, W.Va. (WTRF) – The 13th Annual Wheeling SleepOut is coming up on November 1st.

The event spotlights the plight of teen homelessness by challenging contestants to build a creative shelter out of cardboard to keep them safe from the cold.

Although the name is still “SleepOut,” they no longer stay out all night in their homemade shelter.

Now it’s held on Market Plaza in downtown Wheeling. It will be from 4:00pm to 10:00pm next Friday.

Their cardboard shelters will be judged on creativity, sleepability and education. 16 teams are entered this year. The top team first prize will be $100 dollars.

But the idea is to raise thousands of dollars for the YSS transitional living program.

“All the funds that are raised stay local for our youth in transitional living. So if somebody wants to donate they can go online, take a look at our youthservicessystem.org website or they can go on and look at our Facebook page and there are links to different people who are fundraising so if you want to donate to the cause, just donate to the cause. But if you want to find a friend that is fundraising, you can support their team.”

Tammy Kruse, YSS Development Director

They will have a live band, refreshments, a heated tent and a portable playground.

The temperature–which has been freezing in past years–is predicted to range from 67 to 47 degrees once the sun goes down.

They still need some volunteers to help with set-up. You can email Tina at tkruse@ysswv.com and you can donate at their website.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTRF.