CARNDUFF — For the first time in its history, the Coldest Night of the Year Walk for Choose Life Ministry will be held in Carnduff.
The event is slated for Feb. 24, starting with registration at 4 p.m. at 401 Fourth Street East in Carnduff. The walk will start an hour later. Participants will walk a distance of two or five kilometres. Afterwards, there will be a light meal waiting for walkers, starting at 6 p.m.
This is the largest fundraiser of the year for the ministry, which operates the Homestead for Hope, a residential rehabilitation program in southeast Saskatchewan for women ages 18 and up with life-controlling issues. The goal is to raise $20,000.
Choose Life executive assistant Stephanie Barnes noted that the event is open to people who want to come and walk with them in person or just want to support the cause and do the walk independently wherever they are.
"Anybody can come in and walk. And if you're raising money and you're not local to Carnduff or you can't travel to Carnduff, you can also walk virtually. That's an option as well," Barnes said.
Barnes noted they started working on the fundraiser back in November, acquiring the necessary paperwork. The registration and donations have been open since December. As of mid-January, they were able to raise just over $4,000.
"We are registering walkers and teams for the fundraiser. Once people register to walk, others can donate to them through online or cash/cheque donations and all of that gets put towards the ministry," Barnes explained.
"Most of the stores [in Carnduff] have pledge sheets, and you can donate through the stores. And we also have Second Chance thrift stores, so you can donate through there as well."
The walk typically attracts people from Estevan and surrounding communities, including Carlyle, Carnduff and Lake Alma, among others, but it also sees people coming from further away. Barnes explained why they decided to switch locations from Estevan this year.
"Carnduff is actually where the ministry has its main office, and we also have a store in Carnduff, so it's just a little more local to where the main office is," Barnes noted. "Carnduff is a little more central, too, because we do have a lot of people coming from Manitoba."
Barnes said they could still use more walkers and volunteers. People can register up to the time of the walk.
In 2022, the walk raised over $6,000 for Choose Life's Homestead for Hope.
Barnes said the homestead stays busy, helping people in difficult situations.
"We're busy. We are preparing for our next intake. We are still helping a lot of people in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and all over Canada," Barnes said.
Once the previous participants graduate, a new group of women will start in the program.
Organizations across the country host Coldest Night of the Year fundraisers to raise funds and awareness for those who are hungry, homeless or hurting.
The link to the registration and donation forms, along with the latest information about the local fundraiser, can be found on the Choose Life Ministry Facebook page.
