Coldest Night of the Year

Our Place will once again be an important part of the Coldest night of the Year campaign that happens in February, across Canada. This popular walk raises money and awareness of issues of poverty and homelessness that so many of our neighbours face. We will be holding a walk downtown and partnering with Pacifica Centre Family Services Association to host a walk in the WestShore.

Presently we are looking for:

1. People who would like to join our event planning committee.
2. Sponsors who would like to show care and support for the most vulnerable members of society and showcase your business’s core values to a very wide audience. Click here for the Coldest Night sponsorship package.

If you are interested in sponsoring or becoming a committee member, please email Steven Seltzer, Manager of Community and Corporate Partnerships

Once registration opens in November, visit one of the following websites (those planning to walk virtually may visit either website):

Victoria Walk:
https://cnoy.org/location/victoria/Pandora
Westshore Walk:
https://cnoy.org/location/victoriawestshore

Please keep checking back for more information about the 2024 Coldest Night of the Year walk.

Click here and here for a couple media features about last year’s walk.

Coldest Night 2023 – Looking Back

A Thank You Message to Participants:

Your willingness to brave the chilly temperatures and walk in support of Our Place was inspiring. Thanks to you, we were able to raise $125,000 from our downtown walk and $50,000 for our WestShore walk (in partnership with Pacific Centre Family Services Assn.)! We saw 900 walkers, 115 teams, worked with over 60 volunteers and raised awareness of issues of poverty, homelessness and mental health in our region. We had wonderful corporate sponsors like Slegg Building Materials, BC Housing, Proline Property Management, F45 Downtown Victoria, F45 Langford, the Times Colonist and Big Wheel Burger (click here and here for the full lists of sponsors)

Your contributions will go a long way in helping us provide essential services and support for families and individuals in our neighbourhoods. We ask for your continued commitment as we promote dignity and quality of life for families and individuals in our community.

I am so grateful to you for taking the time to show your support. Your dedication and generosity will make a difference in the lives of so many people.

Thank you and we hope to see you again at future events and fundraisers.

Sincerely,

Steven Seltzer, Manager of Community and Corporate Partnerships

Watch for news on this page about the 2024, Coldest Night walk, taking place on February 24.

We’re always looking to improve our events, so if you have any feedback you’d like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to send us an email.

We will be keeping the 2023 CNOY information up on this page for reference. Meanwhile, click here for a video celebrating the CNOY 23 Downtown Walk.

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Toque Toss Update:

We have confirmed the two advanced toque toss locations. Please note:

Wednesday, February 22^nd, 5-7pm. 1880 Island Highway

We are asking participants from both walk to come down. We will be joined by Ed Bain and Jeff King from The Upside on CHEK who will be broadcasting live on location throughout the evening. It would be great to be able to show viewers that the Greater Victoria community is behind us (or at least pulling up beside us). If you have raised, or are raising $150, Ed, Jeff, Sleggie the Slegg Building Materials mascot, or someone from our team will toss you your 2023 CNOY toque and some glow sticks. If you are raising funds but think you won’t be able to reach that milestone, we have some great past CNOY toques to toss your way. You can even pop out of the car and say hi. We would love to hear from you.

Thursday, February 23^rd, 4:30-5:30pm.

If you cannot make it on Wednesday, we will also have a downtown toque toss at First Met United Church on Balmoral (apologies, the previous email had said Caledonia).

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Save the date: We are excited to announce that Our Place will be participating in the 2023 Coldest Night walkathon on Saturday, February 25. We are also excited to announce that the partnership with pacific Centre Family Services Assn. in the WestShore will continue!

Please note, online registration is now open!

For the Victoria walk, click here.

For the WestShore walk, click here.

If you would like to join our organizing committee or would like more information, please email us at stevens@ourplacesociety.com.

Sponsorships are now available for both walk locations.

Special thanks to:

• Starbucks who will be providing warm beverages to participants of both walks
• F45 Training who will lead warmups at both walks
• Coke who will provide beverages at the downtown walk
• Big Wheel Burger who will donate $10 gift cards to everyone who raises at least $20 for the Coldest Night walk.

Where will the money go: 

Money raised from the downtown walk helps extend the hours of Our Place’s 919 Pandora community centre; allowing us to be open from 6:30am to 8:30pm. This means more programming, increased access to showers, computers, and more one to one contact with Outreach workers, housing advocates…

WestShore: Pacific Centre Family Services Association will be directing this year’s Coldest night funds back into core programs to reduce wait times that continue to grow as a result of rapid population growth in our community. At Our Place, the money raised will go towards arts programming and arts therapy for the residents of our New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community, located in View Royal.

Stay tuned for information about this year’s Toque Tosses. We will be hosting one in the WestShore on Wednesday, February 22 from 5-7. Ed and Jeff from CHEK News’ Upside will be joining us once again to toss those toques to CNOY participants. Come say hi. Ed has been working on his toquetosserie during the off season.

We will also have a downtown toque toss on Thursday, February 23, 4:30-5:30pm at First Met United Church  – on Caledonia.

We will also have info. about Coldest night at the Victoria Royals games on February 20 and 21. Bring your old Coldest night toques!

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Scroll down for highlights from the 2022 CNOY campaign.

Thank you so much to everyone who made our Greater Victoria Coldest Night Walks so successful. Between our Victoria and WestShore campaigns, over 800 people participated in the national walkathon putting us in the top 5 for participating cities-charities!

We also were able to fundraise over $100,000. The money raised will help to ensure we can continue to extend the hours of our 919 Pandora drop-in centre so that people from across the region have a place to go to stay warm, dry and nourished.

Click here for a special message from Victoria MP Laurel Collins.

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About Coldest Night of the Year

Our Place Society and Pacific Centre Family Services Assn (PCFSA) have once again teamed up for the 2022 Coldest Night of the Year charity walk. Together, we are proud to offer families, faith, work, and community groups the opportunity to walk in solidarity and raise awareness and funds to help serve the hungry, homeless, and hurting people in our community.

Click here for our sponsorship package. You have the opportunity to showcase your business’s core values while making a greater impact as you lead the community for a brighter tomorrow.

Participants of this year’s February 26 walk will:

• Enjoy family friendly activities both before and after the walk
  • Join hundreds of compassionate members of our community, participating in Canada’s Fastest Growing Peer-to-Peer Fundraising campaign
  • Get some warm food and drink on a cold winter’s night
  • Have the option to walk virtually and show support from your own home/neighbourhood

*We will have volunteers on hand to help ensure health and safety protocols are in place.

Last year, you helped us raise over $150,000 between our two walk locations. With your support, this year we think we can beat it! Please consider gathering a team together and join us Saturday, February 26th either in person or virtually.

To register, visit one of the following websites (those planning to walk virtually may visit either website):

Victoria Walk:
https://cnoy.org/location/victoria/Pandora
Westshore Walk:
https://cnoy.org/location/victoriawestshore

An effect of the pandemic has been the increase of people accessing our programs and services. Our Place and PCFSA are here for individuals and families facing extreme challenges – regardless of the reason. Your support will ensure that we can continue to be a beacon for our friends and neighbours experiencing tough times.

Gifts and Sponsors

Participants will be receiving Big Wheel Burger $10 gift cards via email on Monday, February 28. Watch for it. We are so grateful to the Big Wheel Burger Foundation and all our event sponsors. They are:

In the WestShore: Slegg Building Materials, WorkLink Community Employment Centre, F45 Training Langford, Philip Bisset-Covaneiro and IG Wealth Management, Auxilium Mortgage Corp., The Island Corridor Foundation, The WestShore Chamber, City Centre Grille and Langford Lanes.

Victoria: BC Nurses Union, Paladin Security, Cornerstone Properties Ltd., Proline Management Ltd., Dr. Fred Voon, Brown Henderson Melbye, the Times Colonist, Used Victoria and Saint John Ambulance

We are so grateful for their support and yours!

There is still time for sponsors to come on board and for new teams to join. Please help us spread the word.

Toque toss update:

To keep lineups at a minimum, we are asking participants to pick up their Coldest Night toques ahead of the day. So, we are bringing back the popular CNOY Toque Tosses!

Tuesday the 22nd: We will be outside Mayfair Shopping Centre on the Douglas side between 5-7pm. Ed Bain and Jeff King from CHEK News will be tossing toques into people’s cars live on air during the news broadcast. Please drive up and show your support. Coming from downtown, the entrance is on Douglas, just after Finlayson. Watch for our volunteers with blue signs and yellow toques.

Wednesday the 23rd we are doing a toque toss between 4:30 and 5:30pm, downtown at First Met United Church, in the parking roundabout on Balmoral Road.

Thursday the 24th we will be tossing toques in the WestShore between 4:30-5:30pm, at Pacific Centre Family Services Association, 324 Goldstream Ave.

Reminder, only those who fundraise for the Coldest Night walk are eligible for a toque. We are so grateful for all you are doing to raise much needed funds for Our Place Society and Pacific Centre Family Services Association. The money raised goes directly to our vital programs and services.