Revelstoke coldest night of the year supports local shelter

A group of walkers in rain gear and some wearing Coldest Night of the Year branded toques walk down a rainy street in Revelstoke. — Revelstoke Coldest Night of the Year participants during 2024’s walk. **Photo by Lys Morton/Revelstoke Mountaineer**

Revelstoke Women’s Shelter Society (RWSS) is calling on the community to come out Saturday, Feb. 22 for Revelstoke’s Coldest Night of the Year walk, an annual event focused on raising money for local organizations working to provide safety, shelter and resources within the community.

“We’re asking businesses and other agencies to sign up, put their name on our challenge board. It’s always a bit of healthy competition,” Lynn Loeppky, RWSS’ executive director told Revelstoke Mountaineer.

Teams can sign up through RWSS’ Coldest Night of the Year site and individual participants are invited to join right up to the moment walkers head out at 5 p.m. after opening remarks and registration. The route will start and end at Revelstoke Community Centre, with a coffee rest in the middle. After the walk, attendees are welcome to mingle and enjoy snacks as RWSS gives closing remarks and sponsor shout outs.

“I look at it as an opportunity to raise funds and not have a lot of overhead,” Loeppky said. Net proceeds raised through Coldest Night of the Year supports RWSS’ Moving Forward programs and other counseling and outreach programs offered to Revelstoke.

While RWSS focuses on providing shelter and support for women and children fleeing domestic violence, many of the community programs are offered to all ages and genders including accessible therapy sessions.

While providing counseling opportunities and community outreach for men might seem a bit outside of the realm for a women’s shelter, Loeppky explained that it helps create stronger communities, meaning less need for women and children to access shelters. It’s a service RWSS is seeing a growing want for.

“In our last fiscal year, our demand for service has gone up 33 per cent for those programs alone,” Loeppky said.

Programming in Revelstoke’s schools has also seen an increase in attendance, providing spaces for students to discuss healthy relationships, mental health supports and creating a youth-centered space to connect.

School programming, free counseling sessions and the Moving Forward programs are just some of the various resources RWSS provides that use funds from the Coldest Night of the year. Last year RWSS raised $23,500 and this year its goal is $35,000.