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The campaign has now expired but it's not too late to support this charity.
Visit the charity's profileNow, vulnerable children and their families have reached breaking point. But with your help we can change things.
On Friday 21 August 2020, join forces with family, friends or colleagues to raise money and spend the night in the most unusual place in your home.
You could rough it in the garden, pitch a tent under your table, or bunk down in the bathroom. There'll be virtual entertainment and fundraising fun on the night, too, bringing homes together across the UK.
Wherever you sleep, you'll help vulnerable children and families who are in desperate need. Who are worried about their future. And who don't know when they'll feel safe and happy again.
Sign up for our Boycott your Bed challenge event and you'll be part of a national movement to help vulnerable children and families.
Joshua was at home by himself when a faulty fuse started an electrical fire. His family had popped to the shop and he was upstairs because he wasn't feeling well.
Terrified, he grabbed his sisters' blanket and ran outside as fast as he could. When the fire brigade arrived, they told the family nothing could've been done - it could've happened to anyone. The family would never be able to go back into their home. They'd lost all their belongings.
At some point on the [first] night I realised I didn't have school clothes for the next day. But Action for Children came round really quickly. They had uniforms and shoes for all of us. And a change of clothes for my baby brother Noah, who was two at the time."
After the fire, the family moved between caravan sites for 11 weeks until they were able to find a new home.
"Moving around was hard because my little sister, Arielle, is autistic, and she freaked out," Joshua explains. "But Action for Children gave us lots of help. They kept helping us with clothes and food."
Joshua, though, was struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
After the fire, if there was any noise, even a leaf on the roof, I was terrified. I was scared of the toaster, I couldn't put the kettle on, anything that made noise was too much for me. I needed people around me."
Action for Children got in touch with the fire brigade to help with Joshua's recovery. The children visited the station and now have a better understanding of what happened. Joshua and his brother and sisters have gone through therapy to deal with the trauma as well.
"That really helped me to get my confidence back," says Joshua. "I still see the firemen sometimes and now my dad is training to be one!"
With the support of Action for Children, Joshua was able to go straight back to school, and has been receiving ongoing counselling for dealing with the trauma almost a year since the fire. His brother and sisters have been able to attend various group sessions at their local children's centre and are beginning to get their childhoods back.
Without Action for Children, I don't know what we would have done. They made us feel that even though we had lost everything we still had so much."
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