On Saturday, Nelson’s streets filled up with Coldest Night of the Year walkers, volunteers and donors. They braved the cold slippery conditions to come out and support the vital work of Nelson CARES Society’s Ready for Home program. Teams were made up of schools, community groups, businesses, friends and families.
The business community supported this event with the toques around town program and generous donations from the Kootenay Co-op, Safeway and Save-On-Foods went into making the amazing chili. There were also numerous donations to create the gift packs for the biggest team (Wildflower School Walkers), best fundraising team (Erica’s Avengers), and best fundraising individual (Debbie House).
The total raised so far is $40,260 — 115 per cent of the $35,000 goal. Nationally Nelson was 49th out of 133 teams. Nelson beat out much bigger locations like Winnipeg, Kelowna, and downtown Montreal. The website (cnoy.org/nelson) will remain open til March 31 to take donations to teams or individual walkers.
“Coldest Night of the Year is an opportunity to experience a few hours of discomfort, where many in our community endure for years,” said Nelson CARES executive director Jenny Robinson.
“Homelessness can erode our dignity individually and as a community. On Saturday we showed Canada that we are ready to support the most vulnerable in our community. We are so grateful to the community for your amazing generosity. The funds will go directly to support our Ready for Home program that supports those who have been homeless or at risk of homelessness to keep and maintain their housing.”
Valhalla Pure Outfitters was lead sponsor this year, while Shambhala Music Festival, Leaf Cross Health Society and Urban Legends signed on as Supporting Sponsors.
