Coldest Night Successful
By John Swartz
It may not have been the coldest night of the year in Orillia Saturday evening, but it was lucrative for the organizers of the 7th annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser for the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Building Hope.
Lighthouse executive director Linda Goodall told SUNonline/Orillia there were 547 registered participants at the outset and several more walk-ins took part in the 5 to 8 p.m. walk from Twin Lakes Secondary School to the Building Hope site on Queen Street. She also said it took 166 volunteers to make the event successful.
Donations are still being accepted until March 31 through the event website, but Goodall said they were going to reach their $140,000 goal for the day. The real estate company Faris Team made a surprise donation of $13,600.
The money raised is split between the soup kitchen operating expenses and the Building Hope project. Goodall said the event has raised over $500,000, not counting this year’s effort.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia) Main: From left Trish Holloway, Linda Goodall and Lynn Thomas of the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Faris Team representatives Melissa Lavender and Kevin Winters.
