$67k raised in 2020 Coldest Night of the Year

On February 22nd, 2020, Collingwood was a scene of a sea of walkers in support of Home Horizon’s Barbara Weider House for youth facing homelessness. With lead sponsorship by BeaverTails, this is the night that the people of South Georgian Bay joined 120 communities across Canada for the Coldest Night of the Year for a 2 or 5 km walk. The walk was followed with a celebration, an “apres-walk” featuring live music from Romney Getty, food from Azzurra, Market Made, Collingwood Bread Company and lots of fun for the kids (face-painting, firetrucks, games and more!).

“We have an incredible opportunity to drive change in our community and give these vulnerable youth hope, opportunity and a chance to succeed. There is nothing warmer than the sight of people rallying to support those in need. The Coldest Night of the Year is an easy and fun way to support our youth that need us most”, says Alison Smith, co-chair of the walk.

In the cold of February, many of us look forward to the chance to snuggle up in the warmth of our homes. Not everyone has that same luxury and the Coldest Night of the Year is a national fundraiser that raises money and awareness for the hungry, homeless and hurting. The goal was to raise $60,000 in support of the youth program and we raised $67,000!

Despite it being a relatively invisible problem in our community, youth homelessness does exist. In response to this need, Home Horizon, a local charitable organization with 11 years of history helping homeless women and children in our community, built the Barbara Weider House. The Barbara Weider House provides a safe home and a welcoming communal environment – something many of these youth have never had. All the youth have access to counseling and social and life skills programs to help them successfully rebuild their lives and transition to independent living and adulthood as opposed to continuing down a path of homelessness that may lead to larger problems.

Register for #cnoy21​ at cnoy.org/collingwood. Or go to Homehorizon.ca to learn more about the important work we do.