The Coldest Night of the Year walk is coming up on Feb. 23, but that hasn’t stopped the Gravenhurst community from already surpassing its fundraising goal of $20,000 for the event.
The Coldest Night of the Year walk is a fundraising event held all across Canada on Feb. 23, and the Gravenhurst Against Poverty (GAP) Council and Steering Committee is hosting the Gravenhurst walk with 28 teams signed up as of Feb. 13. Registered teams include the fire department, the OPP, the Town of Gravenhurst, the District of Muskoka and the YWCA. The fundraising goal for the Gravenhurst portion of the event was set at $20,000, but the campaign has already received nearly $22,500.
“This is becoming quite a Gravenhurst community effort with over 148 walkers and nearly 30 volunteers,” said Audrey van Petegem, a member of GAP. “Every day new walkers and volunteers register and donations are made through the website. It’s very exciting to see all the numbers rising.”
Walkers have the choice of 2, 5 and 10 kilometre routes and there is a free dinner for walkers and volunteers after in the Terry Fox Room at the Gravenhurst Centennial Centre. For the dinner, Boston Pizza is providing pizza, Swiss Chalet is providing soup, The Bakery is providing desserts, and McDonalds is providing tea and coffee. Tim Hortons will also give hot chocolate to walkers as a rest stop along with Gateway Church and the Fire Dept.
“It’s truly fantastic to see this much support for Gravenhurst Against Poverty and its mission to support people in difficulty,” said van Petegem.
To learn more about or support the Gravenhurst campaign, visit the fundraising page here or visit GAP’s website. If you want to learn more about the Coldest Night of the Year walk across Canada, click here.
