It may have been the “coldest night of the year” but the community response to a recent fundraiser was heartwarming.
The Seniors Services Society held its annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 20 to support hungry, homeless and hurting seniors in Metro Vancouver. The society has confirmed $28,937 in donations, which is a bit shy of its $35,000 goal, but donations are still being accepted until mid-March.
“We had an amazing turnout,” said Kara-Leigh Bloch, the society’s executive director. “We originally thought we’d only have 122 walkers because that’s who confirmed with their participation online, but on the day of we had 147 walkers.”
While many fundraising walks take place in warm summer months, the Coldest Night of the Year takes place on a winter night to give people a sense of what it would be like to be a hungry, hurting, homeless senior.
“At the end of the day, I think the biggest value when you do a big community walk like this or any gala, it’s the awareness,” Bloch said. “That was really huge.”
Focus on history
Knox Presbyterian Church is the focus of this month’s presentation at the New Westminster Historical Society.
The event is taking place on Wednesday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the New Westminster Public Library, 716 Sixth Ave. It will take a look at what the city and region were like at the time the church got its start – March 1891.
“What was the town like? What were its major buildings, businesses, industries, activities and events, and specifically what did this church group join in Sapperton?” said local historian Archie Miller in a press release. “This presentation is an excellent example of using a particular focus to add background to a particular place.”
The program is free and everyone is welcome. There is no need to pre-register.
