THUNDER BAY - There have been many colder nights this year, but as wet snow and rain blew in the faces of hundreds of people walking down city streets knowing it would be over soon, it gave them a much greater appreciation for those who have no other choice but to remain outside.
“It will just be great gratitude that I will be able to go home tonight, get into dry clothes, and get into a warm bed,” said Nancy Ringham. “I just really have a heart for the people who live in the kind of weather we have outside and don’t have a home or somewhere where they are safe and warm all the time.”
More than 300 people participated in the Sixth Annual Coldest Night of the Year Walk on Saturday. Walks were taking place in 132 cities across Canada in support of homelessness and this year’s fundraising goal of $5 million was surpassed by more than $32,000.
In Thunder Bay, Grace Ministries hosted the walk and pastor, Gary Macsemchuk, said the goal this year was to raised $70,000 locally.
“Right now we are sitting very close to $60,000 and that’s before counting the money that comes in online,” he said before the walk started Saturday evening.
All the money raised locally goes toward funding the Out of the Cold Program, which offers people a place to stay overnight who may not have access to other shelters in the city, as well as meals and laundry services at Grace Place on Simpson Street.
“We can have 10 plus people staying overnight,” Macsemchuk said. “We have staff that give them a supper, a breakfast, a bag lunch, and wash their clothes.”
Ringham has braved the cold and snowy nights every year for the past six years and in that time she has raised more than $5,000 on her own.
This year she brought in more than $800, but her team, the Frozen Chosen, raised more than $4,000.
“It shows the community has a heart, that the people of Thunder Bay really care about even people they don’t know, people whose name they may never know, but they are willing to reach out and help,” she said.
“I’ve watched this walk grow and I’ve seen the community of Thunder Bay really get behind Grace pPace,” Ringham continued. “This walk is just an example of how community spirit can really raise up a big need and create more awareness and provide support to offer the programming to keep people safe.”
This winter there have been prolonged cold snaps and winter storms, with another expected to hit the city overnight and Sunday. What people experienced on Saturday night during a 2K, 5K, or 10K walk was just a small taste of the life people who do not have regular shelter must face on a daily basis in the city during the winter months.
“It lets people know what it’s like to be out on the street in the middle of winter, in snow storms, and cold weather,” Macsemchuk said. “I think it gives them a little appreciation of the wet feet and the cold weather. Today is not very cold, but there is definitely going to be a wet foot problem today.”
Those who were out walking, while cold and wet, did take comfort in knowing that the money raised is going to support Grace Place and the Out of the Cold program to give people a safe place to sleep and a warm meal, something so many take for granted.
“It’s just a real fight for them to live every day,” Ringham said. “Grace Place provides an amazing opportunity for them to have a safe spot, a place to go and have a meal.”
