Stratford’s Coldest Night of the Year surpasses fundraising goal

Joanne Ferguson, Rosemary Hall and Lisa Van Osch enjoy warm soup from Soup Surreal.

Participants of Stratford’s Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) fundraiser walk on Feb. 22 bundled up and walked around the Avon River in solidarity with those without housing and helped organizers achieve and exceed this year’s fundraising goal.

A press release from United Way Perth-Huron announced that as of Feb. 25, over $220,000 was raised to support the United Way’s Connection Centre and ShelterLink Youth Services, surpassing the $200,000 goal. Stratford’s event was also the fifth-highest fundraiser amongst all CNOY events in Canada.

Nearly 500 participants registered for the CNOY walk in Stratford. The city’s top fundraising teams were Monteith Ritsma Phillips, The Sweet Samuels, Stratford Anglicans, ShelterLink Sprouts – Board and Staff, and Team Haggis. Mayor Martin Ritsma, Jana Bayer-Smith, Lucas Ryan, Joanna Gordon and John Wolfe were the top individual fundraisers.

After walking around in the chilly weather, participants warmed up with bowls of soup from Soup Surreal, fire pits and warm drinks from Features’ Barbeque while dancing to upbeat music.

"The day was absolutely perfect,” said Cate Trudeau, executive director for ShelterLink. “We had a great turnout. It was a wonderful event."

ShelterLink supports youth facing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. The Connection Centre provides shelter and basic needs such as showers, hot meals and laundry for those in need. Trudeau said the event continues to grow each year since 2015 and is the main fundraiser for ShelterLink.

“It supports our programs, it supports the services we provide and we really can't operate without this fundraising event, so this is exactly what we need,” she said.

Sonya Heyen, manager of resource development and communications for the United Way Perth-Huron, said the “event is fun, but our cause is serious.” She said people without housing face challenges during to the cold Canadian winters, so CNOY is a way to show solidarity and raise money for organizations supporting those without housing.

“The spirit of the event is to walk in solidarity with people that might be unsheltered and so we put on our hats and our coats, and we go for a walk,” Heyen said. “Hopefully, there's a reflection of the privilege and the gratitude that we have when we go back to our warm houses, and that we can think about those that might not have that."

CNOY walks were also held in Goderich, Exeter, St. Marys, North Perth, Seaforth and Wingham.

Donate online by visiting en.cnoy.org/location/stratford until the end of March.