Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Walkers and volunteers for Napanee’s chapter of the Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) fundraiser on Saturday gave more than 100 per cent.
That’s not a tired cliche but rather a statement of fact: the event shattered its $30,000 goal by raising $36,995, meaning they reached 123 per cent of their target.
The second annual event saw 112 walkers brave the chilly conditions on Saturday night, departing from Trinity United Church and doing a 2.5 km loop through Downtown Napanee. The goal was to raise awareness for the many Canadians who have to spend the night sleeping on the streets. They also collected pledges, with money going towards the Morningstar Mission.
“People in our town get behind Morningstar Mission and we love that about our community,” said Lynda Carney, a MSM board member and one of the CNOY event organizers. “Last year the mission raised about $38,000, which gave us the cash we needed to buy the building that we were in. We were able to do that and it was a huge gain for us. This year we have been informed, as kindly as possible, by the fire department that we have some mandatory upgrades in our kitchen and that we can not continue to work under the conditions that we have right now. We need to do some renovations and if we don’t, we can’t stay open.”
Saturday’s total was expected to give them more than enough to cover the renovations.
“To us that is a really big deal, (serving warm meals) is at the heart of who we are,” added Carney.
Over 100 walkers of all ages took part in the second annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser in Napanee. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Greater Napanee mayor Marg Isbester was among the walkers.
“The past month or so our area and our country has been going through lots of stuff,” said Isbester. “People arguing about teacher strikes, people arguing about blockades of the railways. Not respecting each other. When you see something like this happen, within the boundaries of L&A County, when you see people from all walks-I guess that’s a poor pun, isn’t it?-everybody always supports it.”
The mayor also made a friendly brag on behalf of the town, noting it raised more than some of the surrounding communities with much larger populations.
CNOY walks took place in communities across Canada, raising money for charities that support hungry, homeless and hurting people.