About 30 teams and 132 walkers will be braving the winter cold in Airdrie on Saturday to raise awareness and funds to support the helpless, the homeless, and the hurting during this year’s Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk.
The walk starts at 5 p.m. at the park shelter in Nose Creek Park and winds along a route which will eventually take the walkers to either the two-kilometre mark at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 1504 Main Street SE or the five-kilometre mark at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on 1305 Main Street S.
“We basically have this event where we walk out in the cold,” explained Dana Gable, who is organizing the walk on behalf of local charity Airdrie P.O.W.E.R. (whose acronym stands for Protecting Our Women with Emergency Resources).
“It’s a 2-km or 5-km walk, depending on what you choose.”
Gable said the idea of the walk is for people to put themselves in the shoes, albeit temporarily, of those who don’t have a choice as to whether or not they are out in the cold.
“So we remember that, and walk in support of charities that help the hungry, cold and hurting,” she said. “So for the Airdrie one, it is going to be for Airdrie P.O.W.E.R to help women suffering from domestic violence.”
Airdrie P.O.W.E.R. operates the city's sole women's day shelter – a facility that opened in 2021.
Gable said Airdrie P.O.W.E.R. originally planned to hold its first Coldest Night of the Year walk in Airdrie last year, but ultimately cancelled it due to the complexities of organizing a public event while simultaneously dealing with public health issues related to COVID-19. Thus, this Saturday's walk will actually be the first of what she hopes will become an annual event going forward.
Judging by the strong response received from the community to date, the Feb. 25 event appears to be off to a great start already. Airdrie P.O.W.E.R set out to raise $30,000, but has already raised over $33,000 with the walk still to come on Saturday evening.
Gable is grateful for the community support.
“It’s a really important thing to do to be involved in your community and support local charities, and this is an easy way to do that,” she said. “Even if you are not able to sign up to walk, you can still donate. You can choose to sponsor a team, an individual walker, or make a general donation to help support women who are experiencing domestic violence.”
Gable added even at this late stage, there is still time for individuals or teams to come out on Saturday to sign up and signify their support for local women experiencing domestic violence.
“Domestic violence really does affect us all; even if you think it doesn’t affect you,” stated Gable. “It affects people you know even if you don’t know. To have resources in our community is super important for that.”
Though the Coldest Night of the Year walk takes place on Saturday, Airdronians wishing to support the cause can continue to donate online until March 31. The website is cnoy.org/location/airdrie
