Municipal staff and community organizers joined Chatham-Kent Councillors Karen Kirkwood-Whyte and Amy Finn in raising awareness for the Coldest Night of the Year event, being held Saturday Feb. 23.
On that day, Canadians in more than 100 communities will participate in a walk to raise funds and awareness about the plight of homelessness.
The local walk, sponsored by NeighbourLink, will begin and end at The Hub, the former Pines Chapel, at 64 Ursuline Ave. Registration begins at 4 p.m. with opening ceremonies being held at 5 p.m. and the walk beginning at 5:15 p.m.
Participants have a choice of two, five or 10-kilometer walks.
A light, warm meal will be served to all walkers and volunteers between 6-8 p.m.
Organizers are hoping to raise $17,000 to help fund NeighbourLink Chatham-Kent programs which include visiting shut-ins and providing transportation to those less fortunate in the community.
NeighbourLink Network Coordinator Alan Baker said his group “equips churches to work together to respond to needs in our community. We strive to ensure that our services meet needs not currently met by other groups.”
“We’re a charity and we’ve got to keep our doors open. We do this one major fundraiser and we have supporters in the community who support us throughout the year,” he said in a media release.
The motto of NeighbourLink is “connecting people in need with people who can help.”
Baker said participants can register online at https://cnoy.org/location/chatham-kent.
More details for the local event are online at http://www.neighbourlinkck.com.
