OKOTOKS - Organizers of a new charity walk in Okotoks hope the weather won’t live up to the event’s name.
Baby It’s Cold Outside (BCO) and the Okotoks Food Bank are partnering to bring the town’s first Coldest Night of the Year event to life at the Foothills Centennial Centre on Feb. 22 starting at 5 p.m. Participants can choose a 2K, 5K or 10K walk in support of BCO and food bank initiatives.
“It’s a fundraising initiative and also raising awareness throughout the community on the hungry and homeless and what they come up against,” said Pamela Morgan, founder and president of BCO.
Her charity organizes clothing drives and essentials drives to deliver toiletries, linens and clothing to people in homeless shelters through the Mustard Seed and Calgary Drop-In Centre, as well as providing Christmas dinners for nominated Foothills families.
Morgan said there are about 250,000 people in Canada who experience homelessness each year, and there are even more who constitute the “hidden homeless” – those who are couch-surfing, and also individuals who are barely able to keep a roof over their heads, she said.
The walk, which she hopes will raise $20,000 for BCO and the food bank, will help fund those initiatives in 2020.
She said it’s a privilege to be able to host the annual national event for the first time in Okotoks.
“It’s the first time we’ve been selected to host it,” said Morgan. “Moving forward, Baby It’s Cold Outside and the food bank will continue that partnership and we will be doing it annually every February.”
Participants and volunteers can register or sign-up by visiting the Coldest Night of the Year website and searching for the Okotoks event. Donations can also be made through the website, she said.
After the walk, there will be a community meal.
“We really want to bring the Okotoks community together, so although this is a fundraising event and it’s charity-driven, it’s really a great opportunity to bring our community together as a whole,” said Morgan.
The meal is being provided through one of the programs offered by the Okotoks Food Bank, its Many Hands soup program.
“They’re going to be whipping up their very popular soups to serve to all of the walkers and volunteers that help us that day,” said Pamela McLean, executive director of the Okotoks Food Bank. “I’m very proud of their efforts.”
She said the partnership with BCO has been instrumental in bringing Coldest Night of the Year to Okotoks, as it’s a large undertaking.
“This event is a lot of work, so we’re grateful we have a partner to shoulder some of the work,” said McLean. “It’s going to be an incredible day, I think.”
The Town of Okotoks has also provided some assistance, donating staff time to help mark out a safe route for the walk and waiving fees for the hall.
Starbucks is providing coffee and hot chocolate, and the staff to serve it, at a rest stop during the walk for those taking on more than 2K, she said.
She said the community has come together to help put on the event and while more volunteers are always needed, what they really want to see is more people come out to join the walk and raise funds.
The money goes toward two great causes, she said.
For the food bank, the funds will go towards its relocation to a larger space to better accommodate its ever-growing programs, like the Help Yourself Shelf, she said.
“We have a little grocery store set up and people come in, you don’t necessarily have to be registered as a client of the Okotoks Food Bank, and this allows for people outside of our designated area to help with hampers to still have access to food,” said McLean. “One of the key drivers for us expanding our location was that we could continue helping these people and increase our help into the Foothills area as well.”
There has been a general increase in demand at the food bank as well, she said.
Funding from the Coldest Night of the Year walk will help fund programs as well as items like shelving and refrigeration units for the new location, she said.
She said it’s great to see the event come to Okotoks for the first time, though she’s surprised it’s taken so long to get here.
“I’m not quite sure why it hasn’t happened here before, but I’m utterly delighted it’s happening in 2020 because the food bank is celebrating its 35 years of service to the community,” said McLean. “This is something a little different, a little new and a definite marker for our 35th anniversary. It’s just a beautiful fit.”
For more information or to register, volunteer or donate, visit www.cnoy.org and search for Okotoks.
