(File Photo/Coldest Night of the Year website)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Coldest Night

Locals to take part in Coldest Night of the Year to support youth services

Feb 11, 2025 | 4:45 PM

Territorial Youth Services is hosting its inaugural Coldest Night of the Year event and with 11 days left to go, they are at 46 per cent of their $20,000 goal.

“The hope is, is that participants will get a small taste or a small understanding of what it might be like for a young person who is experiencing the kinds of issues that we’re trying to tackle,” said Jacob Kokura, director of Territorial Youth Services.

According to the local page, 50 walkers and 11 teams have signed up and will walk one of two routes – either two kilometers or five kilometers. There will be rest stops along the way and afterwards, participants will be welcomed to a light meal.

Participants will start walking at the north end of the city at Territorial Drive Alliance Church.

“Whether it’s hurt, homelessness and hunger – just for a little while, know what it would be like to have to walk five kilometres across town to get a small meal at, say a shelter.”

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The organization has been around since the late 1980s and specializes in youth restitution and mentorship. The youth they work with face intergenerational trauma, experience hunger and some are homeless.

“A lot of what we do in practice is we take young people who need mentorship, who need direction in their lives – for the most part those are between 12 and 18,” he said. “We provide work projects for them whether that’s learning some construction skills, building ice shacks or garden sheds or providing subsidized care services for seniors in our community.”

Coldest Night of the Year originally began in Kitchener, ON and has raised $84 million for local organizations. This year roughly 250 events will take place across Canada and the northern parts of the United States.

“That’s a unique experience in the middle of February and most of us, we wouldn’t choose to be out in the cold on a night like that,” Kokura said. “When we get a little bit of a taste of what that’s like, our hearts become a little bit softer towards those who are challenged in that kind of way.”

This year, the supporting sponsor is Oil Can Charlie’s and the route sponsor is Triod Supply.

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisoonmedia.com

On BlueSky: juleslovett.bsky.social