Sitting at minus 2 Celcius Saturday night, the challenge wasn't to survive the Coldest Night of the Year but to celebrate its success as a fundraiser for the second year in a row.
Raising more than $40,000, some 200 plus people were in attendance during the standing-room-only orientation meeting at St. Giles Church in preparation for the two, five or 10 km family-friendly walk that offers a glimpse into what happens as the sun goes down in Prince George when there's no place to go.
Mayor Lyn Hall was on hand during the opening ceremonies to welcome the participants to the event that not only raised funds but awareness for a worthy cause.
Organizer Elda Egan, whose mentally ill son has been homeless for months at a time, has taken action to combat situations like his by holding the Coldest Night of the Year event where the funds raised go to St. Giles Church benevolence program that provides food hampers to those in need and to AWAC, (An Association Advocating for Women and Community) who partnered for the event.
"I hope the participants get a sense of having done something for a good cause," Egan said. "And I hope they got a little bit of an experience of what it's like to be homeless. I like to think they're out there using their imagination thinking 'what if I had to stay out here longer than half an hour or an hour'."
As part of the event, participants were invited back into the church after their walk for a meal of a variety of soups and buns and cookies for dessert as a way to come together as a community to talk about their experiences on the streets of Prince George on a snowy evening in February.
Trent Derrick, who is a former youth pastor at St. Giles Church, participated by doing the 5 km walk that went into the heart of downtown Prince George.
"We were walking with a great bunch of people and we saw a lot of people huddled in doorways tonight and having conversations with those people is always a good reminder that even in Canada some people are only one injury away from being on the streets," Derrick said. "The gathering itself brings together people from every background. You see doctors, lawyers, politicians, business people, school teachers. Prince George is always a great community for that. I used to be the youth pastor here so I know first-hand how the benevolence program at St. Giles helps a lot of individuals. It's a great cause."
