Gathering together on one of the coldest days of 2021 so far, Cochrane High School students raised more than $3,000 for the Coldest Night of the Year.
About 25 students from Grades 9 to 12 took to the streets of Cochrane for the Coldest Night of the Year walk on the afternoon of Feb. 12 – a day when temperatures hovered around -35 C, according to Cochrane High School Grade 9 French immersion teacher Erica Fredstrom, who is also the Volunteer/Interact Club coordinator.
The students walked a three-kilometre trail at the Tri-School site starting at Cochrane High School.
“It was fun and it was interesting because the day before, school had shut down due to the cold,” Fredstrom said. “[The students] were pretty gung-ho.”
As of Feb. 21, the students had raised about $3,100 for Coldest Night of the Year through the fundraising efforts of 15 students and anonymous donations from the community.
The Coldest Night of the Year is a national initiative that raises money and awareness for those experiencing homelessness. This year marked the first time the event has taken place in Cochrane, and together, the community raised more than $40,000.
Cochrane High School's walk was organized by the school's volunteer club. Fredstrom described the youth in the club as empathetic and eager to take on tough projects.
She added as a volunteer group, 2020 and 2021 have been difficult because they have not had opportunities to connect and gather with the community. Coldest Night of the Year was one of the first times the club was able to do so.
“We’re trying and we’re reaching out to see what we do and this was a great opportunity,” Fredstrom said.
The Cochrane High Volunteer Club learned about Coldest Night of the Year from Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area, who organized the event for the town.
The walk proved to be the perfect event for COVID-19, Fredstrom added, because the youth were able to raise money for an important cause while following provincial public health guidelines.
“What we’ve been learning is that if we engage in helping others, we ourselves feel better,” Fredstrom said. “We’re in a time of high anxiety, lots of stress, and when we start planning and organizing things that have to do with being of service for others, our mental health improves. We feel better.”
Coldest Night of the Year offered the volunteer club a valued opportunity to engage in fundraising while showcasing the importance of raising awareness for vulnerable populations who are experiencing homelessness.
The walk showcased the difficulty vulnerable populations experience when it is -40 C and they have nowhere to go, Fredstrom said, adding students gained a better understanding of what it is like to survive in the extreme cold. It is especially important in Cochrane because the community is not always exposed to those who experience homelessness, she added, even though it remains an issue in rural areas.
Fredstrom said she is proud of her students for engaging with the community, and the club’s students continue to inspire her. It was her first year organizing Coldest Night of the Year and getting the walk off the ground proved to be a difficult but rewarding experience for the club.
“As a volunteer club we struggled to find hands-on opportunities to engage with the community,” Fredstrom said.
The Cochrane High Volunteer Club has a busy year ahead, as it plans to transform from a volunteer club to an Interact Club.
The Interact Club will be sponsored by The Rotary Club of Cochrane and will allow students to grow while providing more opportunities for volunteering, leadership experience and scholarships.
“When I presented the opportunity, they [the students] really jumped on it so I’m pretty excited,” Fredstrom said.
