Coldest Night of the Year going ahead with in-person, virtual options

The annual Coldest Night of the Year event is set to take place on Feb. 26 and locally, the event will be going ahead with planned in-person and virtual options.

The annual event has been an important fundraiser for St. Vincent Place for 10 years and the hope is to raise $100,000 that will help support the local food bank, soup kitchen, and men's shelter.

Following is a full release on this year's event:

St. Vincent Place is happy to say that Coldest Night of the Year is going forward as planned, with both in-person and virtual options for participants.

Tens of thousands of Canadians will take to the streets on Feb. 26 for CNOY, with event staking place in 150 communities across the country. By walking together in the chill of the night, participants will better understand the experience of being on the streets during a cold Canadian winter, while raising funds to aid the work of St. Vincent Place in providing much-needed support.

Those who choose to participate in-person will start and end their walk at the St. Vincent Place parking lot, with rest stops along the way to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate.Those who prefer to go virtual can complete the walk wherever they choose, at any point in February. All participants will walk either 2 or 5 km, and those who raise $150 (or $75 for youth) will earn the iconic CNOY toque.

This is St. Vincent Place’s 10th year taking part in Coldest Night of the Year, and it has become a crucial part of the organization’s fundraising. This year, we’re hoping to raise $100,000 to support the work done in our food bank, soup kitchen, and men’s shelter,which help thousands of people every year.

Though there’s less than a month until the event, there’s still time for you to sign up if you’d like to support St. Vincent Place during these uncertain times. Just head to cnoy.org/saultstemarie and register to walk. If you’ve got questions, contact Sara by email.