ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) — The Bridge of the Penn-York Valley Churches raised more than $17,000 in its 19th Annual Sleepout event in November.

The Sleepout is a 24-hour event that starts the day after Thanksgiving and aims to raise money for those in need in the local community. Churches and community businesses take one-hour shifts during the event to stay outside and create a make-shift home in the parking lot of the Guthrie Desmond Street Practice in Sayre.

“It’s a time when we are thinking about others and what God has provided to us,” Kim Paul, president of The Bridge, told 18 News.

The Bridge is a non-profit organization of churches in the Penn-York Valley that serves residents in Waverly, Sayre, and Athens School Districts. The purpose of the organization is to minister to those in need of financial or spiritual support.