Desiree DeCoste
Beaver Staff
The Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) fundraiser walk is coming up next month but like so many other events, the walk has gone virtual.
Fundraisers will be held in communities across Canada, including Napanee, hosted locally by the Morningstar Mission.
Launching in 2011, the CNOY fundraiser is a family-friendly, now COVID-safe, walk to raise money for charities serving people experiencing homelessness, hurt and hunger.
This year’s virtual walk will take place on Feb. 20 with participants organizing individually or in team bubbles selecting a walk route near home at a time convenient for them.
The CNOY is a charitable program of Blue Sea Foundation, a registered Canadian Foundation. Since 2011, the Coldest Night of the Year has raised over $33,500,000 in support of 144 communities and charity partners serving families, youth, and adults experiencing homelessness, hurt, and hunger across Canada.
“This year is a completely virtual event so our veteran walkers and participants will note that it looks different then it has before for sure but we are still out there and the opportunity is definitely alive,” said Lynda Carney, co-ordinator of the Napanee CNOY event. “So being virtual, all registration, team building and donating can all be done online. We plan to have a fun drive-thru toque pick-up, all of our walkers get CNOY toques and of course with no formal registration we won’t see people face-to-face so we are planning a fun drive-thru toque pick-up the week before the walk, we will announce the date as we get a little closer.”
In 2019 the CNOY fundraiser saw 23,785 walkers across Canada with 3,365 team captains, 83,771 donors, 1,467 community sponsors and 5,102 volunteers helping to deliver $5.8 million for charities and in 2020 CNOY raised a record $6.25 million.
Locally, the money raised from Napanee’s CNOY will go to the Morningstar Mission.
“Today we have 42 walkers and nine teams with 25 days to go so I am completely convinced that with our town’s enthusiasm I think we can even beat last years goal,” expressed Carney. “Last year we set a goal of $30,000 and our town came together to raise $43,000 and change and I think with the enthusiasm that our town displays and with how they get behind Morningstar and the programs there I think our town can come together to raise $50,000. Our total on the board says $30,000 but I think we can do $50,000.”
For more information visit https://cnoy.org/home.