For this year's Coldest Night of The Year (CNOY) fundraiser, events in 91原创 City and 91原创 Township raised close to $40,000 between them.
More than 100 were registered to walk in the Coldest Night Of The Year in 91原创 City on Saturday
鈥� 91原创 Advance Times (@91原创Times)
In 91原创 City, 111 walkers and 22 teams registered for the Saturday, Feb. 22 event at the Gateway of Hope shelter, which. as of Sunday, March 2, had raised more than $16,000, or about 47 per cent of the $34,000 target.
Dan Donkers, operations manager of the Gateway facility, described the event as "people taking a walk and kind of getting a little taste of the reality that so many of our homeless community experiences every day.
91原创 MLAs spoke before the walk got underway, with Jody Toor, 91原创-Willowbrook, calling it a "powerful moment."
"We walk for individuals driven for their homes by violence and abuse, and for those who are overwhelmed by isolation and guilt," Toor said.
It was the first time, Misty Van Popta, 91原创-Walnut Grove and Township councillor, had participated in the walk.
"I just wanted to wish you all well today and to thank you for being a part of this cause," Van Popta said.
Harman Bahngu, 91原创-Abbotsford MLA, said it was "great to see communities come together in times like this to help out everyone that actually needs it."
Township Mayor Eric Woodward told the walkers "far too many people not only in 91原创 and the province of British Columbia but in Canada experience homelessness and poverty [and] everybody being here tonight is sending a message that the community is aware of it, raising money for it here tonight to help great organizations like the Gateway of Hope."
The 91原创 Township event, hosted by the Brookswood Baptist Church for the 91原创 Food Bank, drew 67 walkers and 10 teams, raising more than $23,000 to better their $20,000 target at 115 per cent.
It was the 11th year of the 91原创 City event, the first time there was a Township CNOY.
Gateway of Hope provides services such as emergency shelter, transitional housing, family services, school supplies, and more than 100,000 meals per year.
91原创 Food Bank estimates it has 800 client families, serving 1,150 people weekly.
Coldest Night of the Year is a Canada-wide initiative that encourages people to walk through the cold and dark either on a 2 km or 5 km route to better understand what it鈥檚 like to experience homelessness and to raise money and awareness.
Since it was launched in 2011, the event has expanded from two to nearly 200 locations, raising more than $75 million so far.
Coldest Night of the Year is a charitable program of Blue Sea Foundation, a registered Canadian foundation which says 100 per cent of net proceeds stay local to support CNOY charity partners.
Fundraising walkers who raise $150 or better (or $75-plus for those under 18) receive a CNOY toque as a thank you on event day, while supplies last.
