In hopes of raising funds and awareness regarding the most vulnerable members of their community, Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l'Ontario has joined Coldest Night of the Year.
In a media release issued by the school division, it’s noted that seven schools and their head office will be participating in the national walk, which raises money for charities serving people who experience hurt, hunger and homelessness.
Participating schools include La Découverte, Foyer-Jeunesse, Jean-Éthier-Blais, Hanmer, Macdonald-Cartier and Pavillon-de-l'Avenir as well as the virtual school.
All funds raised locally are donated to the Samaritan Centre in Sudbury, which has been serving the community since 2005. In co-operation with member agencies, Elgin St. Mission and Blue Door Soup Kitchen, a media release by the CSPGNO notes, “the Samaritan Centre ensures that Sudbury's most vulnerable people are cared for with compassion and love.”
The CSPGNO team had raised more than $8,500 as of Friday, which exceeds the initial goal of $5,000 they set out for themselves. As such, they’ve bumped their goal up to $10,000 in hopes of gathering even more money for the Samaritan Centre.
As of this morning, the broader local campaign had raised approximately $76,000, which exceeds its $70,000 goal. This year’s effort kicked off in December, when local six-year-old girl Sophie Hall donated 527 pairs of socks to Samaritan House.
“I had wet feet during a slushy day at my school,” she told Sudbury.com at the time. “It was hard for me to have wet socks, and I imagined the homeless and all that snow all the time.”
Last year’s fundraising goal of $50,000 was blown out of the water when approximately $100,000 was raised.
The community’s Coldest Night of the Year walk is scheduled to take place on Feb. 26, during which participants are encouraged to self-organize their own local team and join the effort virtually by clicking here.
Prior to the pandemic hitting the region in March 2020, Coldest Night of the Year was held in-person. Click here for a photo gallery of the last in-person event, held in February 2020.
