Coldest Night of the Year (CONY)
Details
A winter-themed, family-friendly fundraising walk held each February to support Catholic Charities' Daybreak Center in Joliet. Walk together, raise donations, and build awareness—because “it’s cold out there.” By walking in the cold, you'll feel a hint of the challenge faced by those experiencing homelessness during winter. By fundraising, you'll be contributing much-needed money to Daybreak Center and Hope House. Shepherd’s Table, located within Daybreak Center, provides lunch each day to members of the community who are hungry and are unable to access food. Shepherd’s Table is also a warming and cooling center during extreme weather.
- Walkers get a Coldest Night of the Year winter hat! It's FREE to participate! Please consider joining my team - DaMommas! Just sign-up at the following link! https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=1042354&langPref=en-CA
Location: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 205 East Jackson St., Joliet 60432
Plan on arriving by 4:30, the walk will begin at 5:00.
The midway point of the walk is at Daybreak (usually 5:20-30 for a 20 minute or so pit stop). Soup, hot chocolate and coffee will be offered. Dinner at the shelter that night is to be served from 5:30-6:30 instead of 6:30-7:30. Residents will be eating at the same time the walkers will arrive. It is nice as it lends toward breaking bread together. It is a very cool experience. Afterwards, the walk will resume – ending as soon as everyone returns back to the church (usually by 6:00pm or before).
It is meant to help people understand what it is like to be homeless and living on the street in the cold weather. It is pretty powerful that the walk happens in the same neighborhood as the shelter. People feel the real experience as if they were homeless, how dark and cold it is outside, and gain a small glimpse of what life would be like if they were living at the shelter, and also what it is like to experience something from the soup kitchen, etc. The difference is that many employees, volunteers, and their families will be there. We will not be alone.
For more information and to sign-up or donate here:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=1042354&langPref=en-CA