Coldest Night of the Year is Coming to Medicine Hat

[Medicine Hat, January 21, 2015] – Medicine Hat Hope Street Compassionate Ministry Centre is encouraging Medicine Hat residents to bundle up and raise cold, hard cash for The Coldest Night of the Year Walk, A family-friendly winter fundraising event for Medicine Hat's homeless, hungry and hurting, the WALK takes place on the evening of February 21, 2015.

Taking part in the Coldest Night of the Year will help participants understand the experience of surviving on the streets during a cold Canadian winter, while raising funds to aid the work of Hope Street CMC in providing much-needed support to members of our community. Coldest Night walks will be taking place on the same night in 81 cities from coast to coast.

The Medicine Hat WALK begins and ends at St Barnabas Anglican Church in their Gymnasium, located at 635-4th Street SE in downtown Medicine Hat (Gym entrance on 5th Street), where walkers will register, turn in the results of their fundraising efforts, and return at the end of the evening for a warm celebration meal. Donning iconic blue-and-white toques, participants will walk a 2, 5 or 10km route, and will warm up with toasty drinks at rest stops along the way.

Remember, It's Cold Out There...

This is Hope Street CMC's first year taking part in the Coldest Night of the Year, with a fundraising goal of $25,000. 150 walkers and 20 teams, including staff and friends of Hope Street CMC are expected to brave the cold winter's night. Community sponsors include Speedpro Signs, Crestwood Dental, Courtyard Dental, Harley Davidson, Redcliff Pharmasave, Lawyer Ryan Schindel, Real Estate Agents - Frank Devine and Richard Hammel; along with many Goods & Services and Media sponsors. Please visit the location page listed below for a complete list of sponsors.

Hope Street CMC has been serving Medicine Hat for 10 years, and the boost in funds resulting from the Coldest Night of the Year will benefit their clients in a time of the year known historically for low levels of giving. Our location page is located at www.coldestnightoftheyear.org/medicinehat

If you would like to become a part of the walk in any way, please use one of the following choices:

1. To become a Team Captain and form a team:  Visit the following page - https://coldestnightoftheyear.org/register and click on the Start a Team option. Please select Medicine Hat as your location and Hope Street Compassionate Ministry Centre as your charity when asked in the registration process. 
2. To become a Walker and join a team: Visit our location page - www.coldestnightoftheyear.org/medicinehat and click on the team name you would like to join in the yellow section on the right side. Then select Join a Team beside the amount raised and proceed through the registration process.
3. To support a walker and donate to the event: Visit our location page - www.coldestnightoftheyear.org/medicinehat and click on the team name you want to support, then select the walker and click the Donate Now button. All donations over $20.00 are receipted automatically and it is sent to your email account within a few minutes.
4. Volunteers Needed!! - We have an immediate need for volunteers for our event. If you would like to help out in any way, please visit www.coldestnightoftheyear.org/volunteer and select Medicine Hat as your location. If you then click the checkbox beside the position name, you will see a full description of the volunteer position. Please consider helping us out by becoming a Hope Street CMC Volunteer!

For further information, contact:
Murray Kumm, Executive Director
Hope Street Compassionate Ministry Centre
makumm@hopestreetcmc.ca
1.403.458.HOPE(4673)
www.hopestreetcmc.ca

For National Event information, contact:
Brian Carney, Executive Director
Blue Sea Philanthropy
brian@blueseaphilanthropy.org
1-519-603-2250
www.coldestnightoftheyear.org