Newmarket’s homeless shelter is looking for your help for the cold nights to come as The Coldest Night of the Year campaign kicked off Jan. 15.
Dignitaries gathered at Inn from the Cold to mark the start of fundraising for the event that raises money for housing charities across the country, giving participants a small taste of being stuck outside homeless on a cold night. This year’s event is on Feb. 22, with Newmarket’s version supporting Inn from the Cold.
Inn From the Cold board chair Wayne Ford said that it is one of the shelter’s most significant fundraising events.
“It’s become a cornerstone of a source of revenue for operating,” he said. “We finance a great deal of the operations through donations and through our fundraising … with these events that we run, it gives us sufficient funds to provide the services that we do to the clients.”
This year’s theme for Coldest Night of the Year is “change the tune” for people experiencing homelessness. The event will also run in Richmond Hill locally with that version raising for another area housing organization, Blue Door.
Besides raising money, Ford said it can help spread awareness.
“We need to make the community aware that this truly is a community issue,” he said. “It does need to be solved and I think events like this and people get to participate. I think it does mean that we will solve it because they care.”
Fundraising is underway for Inn From the Cold, with more than $35,000 raised of a $95,000 goal. To date, 118 walkers have signed up to participate across 37 teams.
While homelessness remains a growing problem in the community, Ford said Inn From the Cold is building a new headquarters and transitional shelter to help.
“We really need to find new solutions,” he said, adding that the new Inn From the Cold facility should help people move from shelter to transitional housing to being housed on their own.”If we can keep people moving through that chain, getting them employed and moving them back into the community, that truly is the solution.”
Every donation counts, Ford said.
“It’s the quantum when we add it all together that really becomes significant. So if you can afford a little, a little is as much helpful as a lot.”
You can donate or sign up for the local event here. The check-in for the event begin 4 p.m. at Newmarket's Riverwalk Commons Feb. 22.
