FESTIVAL AUCTION TO HELP VULNERABLE CHILDREN

‘Bid for Beds’ will RAISE MONEY to improve children’s lives

An award-winning festival is inviting potential punters to bid on Ebay for four luxury camping tickets to raise money for a children’s charity.

On 29th and 30th June, Mystery Jets and Slow Club will headline LeeFest at Highams Hill Farm in Surrey. Ghostpoet, Friction, Bastille and Summer Camp will also feature across five stages.

Founded seven years ago by Lee Denny in his parent’s back garden, LeeFest won the Best Grassroots Festival award in 2009, and with help from friends and volunteers it has grown from strength to strength.

The ‘Bid for Beds’ auction tickets include the use of a luxury tent and four inflatable double beds to ensure a great night’s sleep. Money from the highest bidder will go to Kids Company, a charity that provides practical, emotional and educational support to 17,000 vulnerable inner London children and young people.

This money will contribute specifically towards the Kids Company Poverty Busting scheme to provide beds for youngsters who lack a clean and safe place to live and improve their home environment – ensuring they too sleep well at night.

Many of the children helped by Kids Company have been found sleeping on floors, or on unhygienic mattresses found in skips, using rolled up clothes as bedding, or sleeping on cardboard boxes to cover damp.

Kids Company founder Camilla Batmanghelidjh said: “A bed is a place many of us look forward to being in, a refuge, warm, dry and safe. But for many of the children and young people at Kids Company the only place they have is the floor.”

The non-profit-making LeeFest has been supporting Kids Company for the last four years. Lee Denny (24) runs the annual event with a group of friends, and a large team of young volunteers.

Denny said: “LeeFest is about working together creatively to produce something extraordinary. We have never stopped growing since that first year in my garden - every year we create something different, something unexpected, and that’s what keeps us all motivated.”

The ‘Bid for Beds’ online auction, supported by festival camping provider Greenfields Camping, starts on Wednesday 23rd May and runs for 10 days, closing on Friday 30th May. 

Weekend tickets for LeeFest are £57, and on sale now

Family camping and ticketing options are available. Children aged 10 and under go for free.

LeeFest takes place at Highams Hill Farm, Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PQ.