These Boots Were Made For Walking: Fun, Friendly, Family Fundraiser 'Coldest Night of the Year!'

People from all walks of life will come together to walk in unity in over 100 cities across Canada on Saturday, February 20, 2016. Canadians are standing up for homelessness, poverty, hunger and suffering in our communities. They are putting the boots to poverty! Boot! In tough economic times and recession, it is important that we stand together as a nation and Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) is that opportunity to do so. It may be cold out there, but it is even colder for those facing poverty in our communities. And... we are all going to do something about it!

Canadians will be bundling up and putting on their snow boots to walk 2k, 5k, or 10k in designated routes in cities in Canada. There will warm up centers along the route with refreshments and places to rest. We even feed you when you're done! Team goals are to have ten people walking per team and raising $150 each. Walkers gain pledges where sponsors can easily pledge online directly to the site on their team page. Tax receipts are issued after the event.

Funds raised from Coldest Night of the Year will be donated to a local charity in each region. In Red Deer and central Alberta, citizens are walking for the Loaves and Fishes Benevolent Society. Loaves and Fishes is a non-profit charity that has a mandate to help the homeless, disabled, aboriginals, disadvantaged and marginalized people in Alberta. They help just about anybody going through tough times in central Alberta. "With persisting recession and higher unemployment in our region, the phone is often ringing off the hook for programs and services" says, Claudine Fleury, CNOY Event Director.

Loaves and Fishes provides many charitable and essential social services to their community in Alberta. First they are a crisis center, fielding clients facing life's challenges and poverty. They operate a facility located in north Red Deer that has a bright and clean kitchen offering four hot nutritious meals per week to in need individuals and families which feeds over 27,000 people each year. There is seating for about 250 people in the facility hall and administrative offices are upstairs.

The Food Hamper Program is often strained by need as calls for food have increased substantially. They provide over 800 hampers per year. The charity offers a School Lunch Program that prepares and delivers nutritious lunches to over 300 school children per day in grades K-12 in Red Deer who might not otherwise have a lunch at school due to family poverty. They prepare 33,500 lunches per year with the help of volunteer drivers and disabled volunteers who contribute their time to help kids.

Social workers are on staff to provide crisis and benevolent assistance. The organization also assists people with advocacy and taking people to crucial medical appointments in the province. They accept donations of food stuffs and clothing and a full-time driver makes rounds in the city to collect donations for the centre. They have a Resident Pastor on staff who provides counseling and supervises a Fines Option Program where people are able to work off court fines and volunteer assignments in a supervised and contributing environment.

There is also a clothing bank in the facility that provides clothes for job interviews or warm items like winter coats, socks and toques to keep people warm in the cold winter months. In total the charity assists over 47,000 clients per year at Loaves and Fishes in Red Deer. It is a busy hopping place."We are simply trying to meet the need, and there is a lot of demand for our type of services in these tough economic times," says Halina Jarvis, Executive Director.

"We can only do what we do because of the committed volunteer force that supports us at Loaves and Fishes. There are only eight people on staff. Our operating budget and revenues are predominantly gained from individual donations, corporate sponsors and our main annual fundraiser, the Coldest Night of the Year event." said Claudine Fleury.

Coldest Night of the Year, the annual national charity walk takes place in Red Deer kicking off from Loaves and Fishes Benevolent Society at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 20, 2016. The facility is located at 6002-54 Avenue in north central Red Deer, Alberta. People, fans, businesses or groups can feel free to visit our event page at CNOY.ORG

To donate:
Go to: CNOY.ORG and look up Red Deer, the official team is the Red Deer Walking Warriors.

Anyone can donate and we welcome support from all you angels out there! Tax Receipts for donations are issued within one month of the event.

Thanks for allowing me to share this tremendous event with my fellow hub readers. We welcome your readership and support! For more information on Coldest Night of the Year or to become a corporate sponsor, please contact: CNOY Event Director, Claudine at: claudine@reddeerloavesandfishes.com

Friends can LIKE us on Facebook and get updates. We are Loaves and Fishes Red Deer.

On Twitter, tweet us, we are @RDloavesnfishes

Wish us luck with CNOY 2016!