River City shelter-expansion fundraiser exceeds expectations

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Among the 70 or so participants who turned out last Saturday for a chilly walk to support River City Vineyard’s homeless shelter expansion project were a few shelter residents, says a worship pastor at the Sarnia church.

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“A few guys that are currently residing in our shelter, they came out and did the walk too,” Renee Card said.

All together, this year’s local Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser has brought in $57,000 so far, well beyond the $40,000 goal, she said.

Donations can still be made at cnoy.org until March 31.

“We at River City Vineyard are so grateful to all of the walkers who not only worked so hard to fundraise for us and smash this year’s goal, but also for braving the cold and making our first in-person event so successful,” she said.

Walkers shared their personal stories, she added, calling the vent a touching experience highlighting the importance and need for more local shelter beds.

Last year’s virtual version of the walk – River City’s first time participating in the annual event that raises money for charities serving people hurting, hungry and homeless in nearly 150 communities across Canada – collected about $44,000 for the same expansion, which is adding 40 beds to River City’s current 25.

Lots of progress has been made on the roughly $700,000 expansion since, Card said, noting drywall and electrical are up, and pods for the beds are in progress.

“We would love to be open within the next couple of months, but there’s not a certain date at this point in time yet,” she said.

There were 109 registered for the River City walk, with about 40 completing the walk on their own, Card said.

A Facebook Live concert featuring musical duo Card and Robert Todd also raised about $700, Card said.

“Just along with raising money for the walk and just for River City, we were able to raise a lot of awareness,” she said.

Sarnia’s other Coldest Night cause, Habitat for Humanity, which participated for the first time this year, had raised more than $59,000 as of Wednesday, also well above its $40,000 goal, and with 162 walkers registered.

Sarnia-Lambton Habitat CEO David Waters said in February the money raised goes to the local build program.

tkula@postmedia.com