Reggies Sleepout

drake stadium field covered in campers

Thank you to all who participated. You helped raise over $116,000 to support our youth! Check back soon for details about the 2023 event.

Join us in the fight to end youth homelessness in Iowa. Register today to sleepout on the field at Drake Stadium for one night (Oct. 29) and learn more about this critical cause. Gather your friends, family, youth group, place of worship, or workplace and fundraise together as a team. All proceeds benefit programs for transition aged youth at YSS and Iowa Homeless Youth Centers.

During the event, engage in entertainment and educational programming all evening. Using just cardboard, duct tape, and your imagination, participate in the Nationwide Boxed-in Contest and design your own sculpture or enclosure for the night. Awards will be given for creativity and overall design.

For more information about day of the event, what is allowed and what is not, the Nationwide Boxed-in contest and more visit the About page.

FAQ

SLEEPOUT PARTICIPANT GUIDE

Reggie’s Sleepout was created in 2005 in memory of Reggie Kelsey. Reggie was a young man who aged out of the foster care system in 2001, and within three and a half months, was found dead in the Des Moines River.

Reggie had an endearing personality, but suffered from hallucinations and depression. He worried about how he would survive on his own. After being kicked out of his latest foster care placement, Reggie bounced from one shelter to another. Occasionally he camped outside while working with Iowa Homeless Youth Centers’ Street Outreach Program.

As a result of Reggie’s death, Youth & Shelter Services, Inc. (IHYC’s parent organization) led the effort to develop the Iowa Aftercare Services Network to provide services to those aging out of foster care. The program has now been expanded to include a monthly stipend and additional services, and is referred to as the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program.

Reggie’s Sleepout is named in honor of Reggie, and our commitment to prevent another tragedy.

All participants must pre-register or register at check in. To celebrate our return to in-person, there is no registration fee for sleepout participants.