Dennis Chippa says he is blown away the way the North Bay community works.
The executive director of the North Bay Gathering Place soup kitchen is preparing for its largest fundraising event of the year. That's the Coldest Night of the Year event which goes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
"We have scaled back our expectations from the start," said Chippa.
"Last year our goal was $45,000, this year our goal is $35,000 and let's aim for maybe 20 teams. But as of now, we are up to 28 teams, we have 153 walkers, and last year we had 160 or 170. So we are down maybe 15 walkers this year but we are up five teams from last year and we are about $1500 away from our goal now. We set our goals low because of the lockdown and people hurting."
See related: Gathering Place's Coldest Night to shine a light in the darkness
The Coldest Night event will take on a different look due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Bay and area residents who signed up will walk two kilometers to support the most vulnerable in our region.
They can walk wherever they want, safely distanced, or take the route starting and finishing with the Gathering Place. Participants are also being encouraged to light it up, with bright clothes, flashlights, neon, to provide that light. Those that can’t walk, can always provide a light of support in their windows on Saturday.
"There are some teams formed this year because they are people that we helped out," said Chippa.
"They are groups of individuals that we helped out calling out in crisis during the summer.
"It is so hard going to a community asking for money when everybody is hurting. But typical of this town, people have exceeded our expectations.
Funds raised will support the Gathering Place’s day-to-day activities, including 16 meals, 12 food outreach locations, food rescue and the community garden, all of which provides support both locally and throughout the district.
