For the fifth year, 12-year-old Brooke Renaud is leading a group of Windsor kids in fundraising efforts for the annual \u2018Coldest Night of the Year\u2019 drive<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just like helping other people,\u201d she said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past decade, the national fundraiser has seen Canadians collect cash for homeless outreach services in their area before spending the better part of a winter\u2019s evening outside<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI get to feel what the homeless feel,\u201d said Renaud<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, she and her team have raised nearly $7,000, with all of the proceeds going straight to Windsor\u2019s Downtown Mission<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Renaud said she made and sold pens to make the money, and her team held a bake sale and pasta dinner too<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They even took the leftovers downtown to give to some who are living unhoused<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were very appreciative,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how old you are, anybody can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Downtown Mission said the Coldest Night of the Year is their biggest annual fundraiser<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, they set a $100,000 goal and had raised 87 per cent of that by the eve of the event<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of the money stays right here in Windsor where we need it,\u201d said Michael McCallum, the Mission\u2019s director of special events and community engagement<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McCallum said $100,000 is their loftiest goal yet, but he\u2019s confident they\u2019ll achieve it with what comes in on the last day<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Renaud\u2019s group and the 36 other teams registered will meet at the Mission before setting off on a walk through the downtown core<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Renaud said she looked forward to the evening, while also feeling lucky<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel good that I have a home that can keep me warm and a comfy bed to sleep in that will keep me warm,\u201d she said<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the fifth year, 12-year-old Brooke Renaud is leading a group of Windsor kids in fundraising efforts for the annual \u2018Coldest Night of the Year\u2019 drive \u201cI just like helping other people,\u201d she said For the past decade, the national fundraiser has seen Canadians collect cash for homeless outreach services in their area before spending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":25452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"topbottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"enable_post_split":"0","post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n