THUNDER BAY – Coldest Night Walk organizers were blown away by the support shown from the community during their 10th annual event Saturday evening.
The Coldest Night of the Year Walk is an annual fundraiser that provides roughly 20 per cent of the funds needed to keep Grace Place Thunder Bay open throughout the year.
Approximately 325 walkers came out to help raise funds this year and Gary Macsemchuk, event director, said they were overwhelmed by the support from the city.
“At the beginning of the week, things were a little bit quiet and we were down considerably in the donations,” he said.
“But today it's been overwhelming with the number of people who have come out to support us.”
Organizers were a little worried about being able to reach the fundraising goal of $90,000 but when the time came for the walk to begin, the group was just $2,000 short.
And, by Sunday morning, donations reached $89,978 -- just $22 short of their goal. Macsemchuck said donations can be made until the end of March at cnoy.org/locations/thunderbay.
Macsemchuck said thank you to all of the team captains and the walkers who have raised money in support of Grace Place.
“We are overwhelmed with the response and the support,” he said.
