Lynchburg’s Miriam’s House, a local charity, hosted its first Coldest Night of the Year on Saturday, Feb. 26, a fundraiser where members of the community came together and walked either a 2K or 5K route during a cold winter night.
Since the opening of Miriam’s House in 1994, the charity has focused on helping and supporting the needy individuals and families who lack homes. Miriam’s House and Coldest Night of the Year met with the same goal: to end homelessness. Director of Administration and Community Engagement Leah Wiebe of Miriam’s House said the goal of the event is to instill compassion through the understanding of the reality of homelessness.
“Families and individuals come out and really experience and engage with what our homeless neighbors experience day in and day out. It’s a great opportunity to build empathy and to remind us that our work is not over to end homelessness,ˮ Wiebe said.
Wiebe said Miriam’s House functions to provide care and relies on community for support to do so. Through the support of businesses and community members, they stand together to end homelessness.
With the effort of Miriam’s House and the help of everybody who joined the event, they raised over $42,000, exceeding the original goal of $25,000 by 170%. Each team raised money and awareness, leading to the success of the fundraiser.
Robin Steckley is a member of the top fundraising team with a total of $3,770. Steckley addressed the crowd before the walk and shared what this amount of money means for the people in need.
“This isn’t the coldest night of the year, but there’s going to be a lot of cold nights of the year in the future, and what you’re doing tonight is going to make a difference for the lives of people in our community,ˮ Steckley said. “Somebody will have a warm place to sleep next year on the coldest night of the year and many years to come because this has been a huge success.ˮ
Miriam’s House Executive Director Sarah Quarantotto told the crowd about specific people they are impacting.
“Through the work of Miriam’s House, individual lives are impacted forever. Precious was rehoused to the safety of a home after being kicked out of hers when she turned 18. Crystal and her children didn’t have to sleep in their car after fleeing domestic violence, and Tyler finally had the opportunity to have a home of his own after sleeping under a bridge for years and years in our community,ˮ Quarantotto said. “Through our housing programs, our homeless neighbors are given the opportunity to rebuild their lives, and so much of that is thanks to you.ˮ
Along with the money made, the walk itself being planned in a cold winter month is a big part of what helps spread awareness. One participant in the walk Seth Campbell said he thinks the event helps make people aware of the difficulties homeless people experience.
“I’m just walking because a lot of people don’t realize the struggles and the heartaches they face. This is real life and a lot of times we kind of live in a bubble,ˮ Campbell said. “We’re just trying to make ourselves more aware and help these guys raise awareness for the community.ˮ
The Coldest Night of the Year was originally launched in Canada with 440 walkers in two locations raising around $100,000. Last year, they grew to over 30,000 walkers in 149 locations and raised just under $10 million. This year, the goal of $10 million was met with the help of local charities like Miriam’s House.
Licari is a news reporter.