Walkers brave the cold during one of the Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walks held in February 2023.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
With winter bearing down, the coming months pose a dangerous and significant challenge for the homeless and those struggling to survive.
They’ll need food, they’ll need warm clothing and coats, and they’ll need a place to get out of the bitter chill.
The Refuge in Greenwood hopes to provide those resources, and leaders hope the community will join them in doing so through a new fundraising event.
The Coldest Night of the Year walk will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Center Grove Church. As a family-friendly fundraising walk, the goal of the event is to generate money for the homeless, hungry and hurting of Johnson and Marion counties.
“This time of year is when our families are experiencing these struggles. Even if they have a home, maybe their electricity was turned off, or they have to turn it way down and they’re going to be very, very cold this winter because they can’t afford their bills,” said Kerry Carmichael, executive director of The Refuge. “I can be uncomfortable for a couple hours because that’s the reality of what they’re facing. That’s the impact this event will bring.”
The Coldest Night of the Year is a national campaign designed to support and serve people who are homeless, are struggling to house and feed their families, face violence and abuse or are struggling in other ways.
Around 40 cities throughout the United States will hold events on Feb. 24 — traditionally one of the coldest days of the year — to raise money and awareness of those issues. In Indiana, other walks will be held in Bedford, Lebanon and Evansville.
The Greenwood event came about after staff at The Refuge connected with the Coldest Night of Year organizing group in late 2022. There wasn’t enough time to put together a local event this year, so they focused on founding one for 2024, Carmichael said.
“When it came back around to thinking about it, it was just a great fit for us to try and get it together,” she said.
The Refuge was formed in 2007 to focus resources on helping people within the local community. Organizers found that while many churches wanted to address issues such as food insecurity and poverty, each congregation could not develop and run its own food pantry.
But with area churches providing the resources they could, the Refuge would be a hub to address hunger in the county.
As the Refuge grew, it started offering additional programs to area families and individuals in need. The organization offered special Thanksgiving meals and gift opportunities for families at Christmas. Leaders have helped people navigate available resources to get the assistance they need.
The Coldest Night of the Year mission melded perfectly with their own.
“The focus is on raising money to serve people who are experiencing homelessness, hunger, food insecurity, all centered around it being one of the coldest nights of the year,” Carmichael said.
The walk begins and ends at Center Grove Church, 2340 S. SR 135, Greenwood. Participants will walk a 2-kilometer or 5-kilometer route around the church’s paved walking trail. Participants can warm up with toasty drinks at rest stops along the way, and will be able to celebrate their efforts together at the finish line.
All those who raise over $150, or $75 for youth, will also don iconic Coldest Night of the Year hats as they face the cold night.
The hope is to raise $20,000. To do so, they need business sponsors as well as participants who will join in the fundraising effort, Carmichael said. There is no cost to register for the walk, but the hope is that people taking part will raise money on their own to support the cause.
“It’s just with the intent to get more and more people to recognize what’s going on in our community and raise money per walker,” Carmichael said.
With the money raised, the idea is to expand services such as providing food, household items and hygiene items to their clients.
“We have a 25% increase on new families that are coming, but we’re almost tripled on where we were at last year — and that’s even coming off of COVID,” Carmichael said.
People can find registration information on The Refuge’s website or on their social media.
AT A GLANCE
Coldest Night of the Year
What: A family-friendly fundraising walk to support the homeless, hungry and hurting. The events offer 2K and 5K options.
Who: The Refuge, a Greenwood-based organization providing food and other services to people in need
When: 4-7 p.m. Feb. 24
Where: Center Grove Church, 2340 S. SR 135, Greenwood
How to help: Organizers are looking for walkers, team captains and business sponsors to help support the event.
How to register: cnoy.com/location/greenwood
Information: Contact Kerry Carmichael, executive director of the Refuge, at [email protected] or 317-889-7338.
