$23,61378%Goal:
$30,000
Whitecourt
Hosted by Soaring Eagle Support Society
The Coldest Night of the Year is a winterrific family-friendly walk to raise money for local charities serving people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness. Team up, walk, and fundraise! It’s cold out there... but there’s no place like home.
Community Sponsors
Whitecourt (Soaring Eagle Support Society) is super grateful for our fantastic 2022 sponsors! View all sponsors >
2022 CNOY Photos
Thanks to all of our amazing photographer volunteers! If you've got a CNOY Day snapshot you'd like to share, email it to photos@cnoy.org.
Whitecourt Scoreboard
Are you thrashing the competition (for a good cause)? Find out here! Stats are updated every 15 minutes. See how you stack up on the national scoreboard >
About Soaring Eagle Support Society
ABOUT SOARING EAGLE SUPPORT SOCIETY (SESS)
Soaring Eagle Support Society (SESS) is a registered charity in Whitecourt, Alberta that provides services for our vulnerable citizens.
Our goal is:
• to provide direct supports - or be the bridge to other community supports - to those who have been disqualified, traumatized or abandoned by traditional services and do not have the level of skills needed to thrive and be connected to their community
• to provide supported housing for the ‘hard-to house.’
Soaring Eagle officially opened its doors in downtown Whitecourt in June 2020 as a free day-time drop-in Support Centre for vulnerable individuals. SESS provided a safe, welcoming, respectful space for individuals to receive services, including: washrooms, laundry facilities, showers, bag lunches, snacks, water, coffee, telephone, internet, computers, rest and meeting areas, mailing address, document storage, Income Tax preparation, I.D. procurement and advocacy. This Centre proved to be especially needed during the Covid-19 Pandemic when most of the community facilities and supports were not accessible. SESS averaged 20 drop-in clients daily and increased their active client support files from 20 – 150 over eight months.
Soaring Eagle is aware that lack of appropriate housing has always been the challenge for most of the individuals we serve. To that end, we made the decision to change our focus from drop-in services to primarily providing housing for ‘hard to house’ individuals - as well as Community Navigation on an outreach basis. We leased a local motel – now called Eagle’s Nest - to provide short-term supportive accommodation.
Eagle’s Nest provides support services as needed to the residents including access to food, medication management, in-house lay-counselling, individual support plans, supported referrals, advocacy and all “Outreach” services that are provided to the community.
As well as housing, Soaring Eagle provides Outreach Services to individuals in the community which includes:
- Access to showers and laundry
- Access to lunches and emergency food and emergency clothing
- Computer, Internet and Telephone access
- Outreach advocacy (including referrals and peer to peer addiction & mental health supports)
- Housing Navigator – to assist with housing challenges, housing advocacy and applications in the community
- Court advocacy
- ID program (obtain identification for vulnerable citizens)
- CRA Tax-filing program (filing yearly taxes)
- Commissioner of Oaths
- Mental Health Animator – partnering with the Rural Mental Health Association
Coldest Night of the Year
It is our goal to work together with our local municipalities, agencies and businesses to provide a solution to homelessness and the lack of appropriate housing in our communities - especially for those who are hard-to-house.
The funds raised from CONY will go a long way to supporting these vulnerable individuals
Homelessness impacts everyone.
From the costs of emergency shelters, to institutional health and psychiatric services and the criminal justice system, to the individual physical and mental health impact on every homeless person, the causes and effects of homelessness cost all Canadians dearly.
Solving homelessness makes sense.
Not only are we saving money,
we are also
doing the right thing.
Whitecourt Maps
Check out this year's CNOY route maps below:
Start and end in the Home Hardware parking lot
Start and end at Home Hardware parking lot. Mid point rest stop will be at St. Joseph's Parish parking lot.
Event Day Details
Save the date - CNOY Day is February 26, 2022!
Join us in-person on Saturday, February 26, 2022. Scroll down to read all the event day details!
StartGoogle Map
The start and end point for both the 2km and 5km walk is at the Home Hardware parking lot - 5020 49 Avenue in Whitecourt.
There will be a rest stop on the 5km walk at St. Joseph Parish's parking lot - 5538 Mink Creek Road.
Check-in
- All walkers must check-in personally at the Home Hardware parking lot to participate in the in-person event on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
- Toques! Fundraising walkers who raise $150+ (or $75+ for those under 18) will receive a CNOY toque as a thank you on event day, while supplies last.
- No money or cheques will be processed at check-in.
Have questions? Visit our FAQ section!
Schedule
- 4:00 pm: Check-in opens at Home Hardware Parking Lot
- 5:00 pm: Opening remarks
- 5:10 pm: Walker send off (all distances) from Home Hardware Parking Lot
- 5:30 pm: Check-in closes
- 5:45 pm - 7:00 pm: Light meal served
- 6:30 pm: Rest stop at St. Joseph's Parish Hall Parking Lot closes
- 7:00 pm:: Route closes
Route Details
- Route Distances: 2 km or 5 km
- Rest stop: There will be one rest stop on the 5km route located in the St. Joseph's Parish Hall parking lot with yummy snacks and drinks
- Signage: All routes will be well-signed with our bold blue CNOY signs
- Route Support: Route marshals, rest stop hosts, and sweep vehicle drivers will provide support along the route
- 12 and under walkers must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times
Toque Pick-up
In-person walkers can pick up their toques at walker check-in on February 26th. For our wonderful virtual walkers, here are the toque pick-up times:
- February 21 - 25; 9:00 - 4:00 p.m. at Eagle's Nest Motel - 3515 Caxton Drive
- February 24 & 25 - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m at Eagle's Nest Motel - 3515 Caxton Drive
- Team captains may pick up toques for their whole team if they wish
Handling Money
We cannot process cash or cheques at our in-person event. Here's what you can do:
- Credit Card: The Best Option! Simple, secure, automatically tax receipted for gifts of $20+. Visit the Donate page, share your personal page link, or have your donor call CNOY Head Office.
- Cheques: The Old Faithful - made out to Coldest Night of the Year with your name on the Memo line. Mail them to CNOY Head Office along with your completed pledge sheet.
- Cash: You have 2 options:
- 1. Login to FundHub, click “Enter $$ and Cheques,” create pledges for your cash donations, pay them off with your personal credit card, and keep the cash. OR...
- 2. Write a cheque (made out to “Coldest Night of the Year”) for the total amount of cash you’ve collected. Mail it to the CNOY Head Office with your completed pledge sheet.
What to Bring
A few common sense suggestions:
- A cell phone for emergencies (recommended but not required)
- Good waterproof shoes/boots for walking
- Warm coat and mitts/gloves
- A face mask for personal use or if you need to go inside
- Extra snacks if you have allergies or food sensitivities
- Your own water bottle
- A passion for the charity you're walking and fundraising for
Waivers
All participants must register online this year and accept the electronic waiver.
- When they register online, they will automatically accept an electronic waiver, which is all that is needed for adults.
- If you have youth or children on your team, they will need to have their parent or guardian sign a printed paper waiver.
- Someone on your team (like you!) must take a photo of all child/youth waivers and send them to waivers@cnoy.org.
Contact Us
Soaring Eagle Support Society
Jeremy Watson Outreach Advocate
Toll Free 1.877.743.3413 / Phone 519.603.2250
Email info@cnoy.org