Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser warms organizers' hearts
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
The number of participants who turned out for the annual Coldest Night of the Year walk in Brantford certainly warmed the hearts of organizers.
While the thermometer may not have registered the lowest this winter on Saturday evening, the number of participants who turned out for the annual Coldest Night of the Year walk in Brantford certainly warmed the hearts of organizers.
The 15th annual fundraising walk for Why Not City Missions drew more than 200 participants who met at One Market in downtown Brantford prior to heading out on their choice of a two- or five-kilometre walk.
“This year our walk is going through the downtown core because we wanted to highlight some of the other service providers who are doing great work in Brantford as well,” said Andrea Lisk, administrative assistant at Why Not City Missions. “We set a goal of $55,000 knowing that a lot of people are struggling financially… but we may have surpassed that and broken our record.”
Just before walkers embarked, it was announced that $58,213 had been raised. Donations can still be made until March 31 by visiting cnoy.org and looking up the Brantford location Why Not.
The walk is the biggest fundraiser each year for Why Not City Missions and impacts each of their programs.
“In our housing programs especially, we see youth lives changing,” noted executive director Karen Stewart. “We see them moving towards being out independently living, and the aim is to get them off social assistance.
“So, all the programs we are working on are job skills development, life skills development. That’s really critical work,” she stated. “The youth centre is a hot meal every night for 30 to 40 kids, and a space safe to be free to hang out, connect with adults in really mentoring ways, and to get access to mental health supports.”
Charlie Kopczyk, who along with his wife Susan who died on February 6, 2026, founded Why Not City Missions in 2002, said he is very happy and proud of the centre’s team, staff, and volunteers.
“The legacy that has been left of what my wife Susan and myself started is going strong 23 years later,” Kopczyk observed. “We have great staff; we’re doing a lot more outreach, housing, maternity homes, Charlie’s Place, and a housing partnership with the City.
“It’s grown a lot from when we first started out in the streets when we didn’t have a facility at all. The support that we’ve gotten from our city has been tremendous. I’m ecstatic.”
Article credit: Brian Thompson, Brantford Expositor
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