Young Sudburian donates socks to the Samaritan Centre

Sudbury -

In less than two months, the Samaritan Centre in Greater Sudbury will host its annual Coldest Night of the Year walk to raise funds for their work.

The hope is to have a hybrid event with participants choosing to walk two or five kilometres, either in person or virtually. But officials said Tuesday it's all dependent on what the COVID-19 situation is come Feb. 26, when the walk takes place.

Either way, it's in support of the Samaritan Centre and the work that is done there.

“The target goal is to raise $70,000," said Lisa Long, the centre's executive director. "It’s our only fundraiser that we do, so it’s a pretty big event for us."

Long said the event allows them to continue to care for the city's vulnerable citizens at their Elgin Street site.

"We house two feeding programs in our building and we have a number of support and services, such as a drop-in centre, hairdresser, outreach services for our vulnerable folks,” she said.

As part of the kickoff event Tuesday, six-year-old Sophie Hall made a donation of 527 pairs of socks. She said she was encouraged to start a sock drive after having wet socks of her own.

“I was at school in the slush one day and I discovered it isn’t nice to have wet feet," she said. "Very not nice.”

In addition to socks and other basic supplies, Long said they also need to maintain their building so they can keep caring for their clients.

“We’ve got five HVAC units on the roof (and) they’re ready to be replaced," she said.

"One was replaced last fall the other four are ready to be replaced. They’re … 17 years old and with COVID, we’ve certainly learned a lot about air quality and ventilation."

Despite the challenges, Long said she's confident residents will come through again this year.

“Every year is a reminder of just how generous this city is," she said. "Last year we had a virtual event for obvious reasons and we raised just over $100,000.”

For more information on the Coldest Night of the Year walk, click here.