Coldest Night of the Year hits the streets for St. Vincent Place (3 photos)

More than 200 people took part in the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser for St. Vincent Place Saturday. 

The annual event at St. Vincent Place joins 144 locations and roughly 22,000 walkers as part and parcel of a larger movement to help the hungry and homeless across Canada. 

“I want to thank you all for supporting this great fundraiser - it helps us throughout the year at St. Vincent Place to do the things we need to do to help the people in the community that are in need,” said St. Vincent Place General Manager Nat Cicchelli, addressing the walkers at St. Vincent Place Saturday. 

St. Vincent Place Marketing and Events Coordinator Sara McCleary says Coldest Night of the Year is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the men’s shelter, soup kitchen and food bank. 

“Last year, it brought in about $89,000, and this year, we’re actually coming fairly close to doing that again, so that’s a huge amount of money for such a small organization - it really helps us out.” 

As of early Saturday evening, the Coldest Night of the Year campaign had already attained 94 per cent of its $6-million goal nationally.