Over 120 walkers hit the streets of Amherstburg on the weekend to raise funds for The House Youth Centre.
The Coldest Night of the Year walk in Amherstburg was one of 192 walks held nationwide last Saturday. As of press time, the local walk raised $34,452 – or 68 per cent of the House's $50,000 goal – though people can still donate to the campaign until March 31.
The 123 walkers and 22 teams is “comparable to last year,” said Amy Bailey, a member of The House's fund development committee.
Funding raised locally helps with The House's programming and to pay for weekend retreats. Most of the money raised by the walkers stays locally, though some goes to the national CNOY campaign, though House program director Morghan Shearon stated all sponsorship money stays in Amherstburg.
“We want to be able to help volunteers with financial costs,” said Bailey, adding the money will cover some costs they incur by helping The House. “We realize how hard the economy has been for all of them.”
Shearon pointed out 35 volunteers helped with Amherstburg's Coldest Night of the Year, adding the fund development committee is all volunteers as well.
“They put in a lot of work to make this happen today,” she said.
Bailey thanked Shooters Roadhouse for being the lead sponsor and G.L. Heritage Brewing Co. for hosting the “So Cold Social” event to help bolster fundraising earlier this month.
Bailey recalled a poem from 2015 of how a member of The House was impacted. She used that as an example of how The House connects with people and makes youth feel they belong to something.
“We all have countless stories of our experiences at House and how the House has impacted us,” said Shearon.
Shearon admitted the youth centre's numbers aren't where they want them to be and that they want to increase their profile and inform more youth of the services that are offered.
“We are ready to get our name back out in the community,” she said. “We have so much to offer the youth in our community. We're yelling from the rooftops that we are here to help.”
The House also has an alumni group, with Bailey noting people of all ages have struggles. She added she went through The House as a youth between 1994-97 and of 44 members she went with, she is the only one still affiliated.
There were 2K and 5K walks Saturday evening with a chili supper prepared by the Amherstburg Firefighters Association. All sponsors were thanked and Bailey added people can already start thinking about the fifth annual Amherstburg's Coldest Night of the Year, which will be Feb. 22, 2025. An after-party was held at Shooters.
For more information on The House Youth Centre, call 519-736-6811 or visit https://thehouseyouthcentre.com.
To donate to the ACNOY campaign, visit www.cnoy.org/location/amherstburg.
By Ron Giofu
Comments