Saturday was the Coldest Night of the Year for some Prince George residents.
The yearly event raised an estimated $40,250 for the St. Giles Church Benevolence Fund and the Association Advocating for Women and Community (AWAC).
“What we do is we help house individuals straight from the streets into their own housing,” explains AWAC Executive Director Connie Abe.
“A lot of them don’t have hydro in their name so we’ll have to set up the damage deposits so then you need money for that. They have no household furnishings, they have no beds, no dishes.”
.@cnoyorg walkers range in age from 3 to 73 for event in #CityOfPG; among delegates include @Lynhallpg, & Councillors @SusanScottPG & Murray Krause | #CNOY2018 pic.twitter.com/y0lBfiydNp
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) February 25, 2018
The point of the fundraiser is also to see what it’s like as a homeless person to an extent, according to Abe.
“We’re able to do the two, five, or ten [kilometer] walk and then we know that we’re going to be able to go home to a nice warm house,” she says.
“Whereas the individuals that we are raising this money for don’t have a home to go to so they’re living in this environment 24/7.”
Abe says this year around there was about double the turnout as the previous year with 250 participants.
.@cnoyorg 2nd year in #CityOfPG has face-painting for walkers of all ages & all distances; snowflakes representing the elements those without homes deal with in winter | #CNOY2018 pic.twitter.com/RwsjEZwRKZ
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) February 25, 2018
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