Niagara College made great strides in battling hunger and homelessness in the community.

With third largest team in Canada for Coldest Night of the Year (CNOTY) 2023, the College raised more than $11,000 for Welland’s Open Arms Mission (OAM) — a volunteer-driven organization that provides food, personal care and other items to those in need, while the College was a host location for CNOTY walks in Welland.

More than 60 participants joined the NC Knight Walkers on March 25 for a 5-km ‘family friendly’ fundraising walk that began and ended at NC’s Welland Campus.

“Niagara College is pleased to be a community partner in support of the Coldest Night of the Year and to host the walk at our Welland Campus,” said NC President Sean Kennedy, who participated in the walk. “We are proud that the Knights Walkers has grown into one of the largest teams in Canada through the efforts of captain Joe Abbruscato.”

NC joined teams from across Canada who participated in Coldest Night of the Year. NC’s Knight Walkers was among 31 Welland-based teams.

“It was a wonderful event and OAM deeply appreciates their partnership with Niagara College with this event,” said Marty Misener, Manager of Fundraising and Partnership Development. Open Arms Mission in Welland. “This fundraiser ensures that food is always on the shelves and the lights remain on!”

Misener noted that the need for food in the Welland community has almost doubled in the last three years and events like CNOTY help OAM meet this rising need. Last year, Open Arms Mission served 10,261 people and 3212 were under the age of 18.

CNOTY has been the largest fundraising event for Open Arms in the last few years and, this year, more than $90,000 has been raised.

“These funds are deeply appreciated and will help meet the growing need for food in the community.  They will be used to keep our shelves stocked with healthy food. The Niagara College community including the staff, students, and Student Administrative Council made this event a success,” said Misener. “Whether it was behind-the-scenes coordination to walking at the event, the Niagara College community showed their support for our community in so many ways.

“They literally took tangible steps to help those in our community get the food they need.”

For team captain Joe Abbruscato, who is a professor in the School of Trades, the event left him feeling grateful, appreciative and hopeful for a better tomorrow. Abbruscato has been involved with the CNOTY for nine years as it has grown into an annual event that draws the college community together for a greater good.

“People are struggling out there and the need is growing for mental health, food, and shelter,” he said. “We must step as a community, for our community. This really shows a different side of us at NC.”

Abbruscato said he was proud of how the NC team joined together to raise funds and awareness for the cause. While some departments took part as a team-building exercise, others didn’t know one another and felt connected by supporting the community.

“Our team is getting bigger each year and I love that management, staff and students come together for this great/important cause. This is truly a big team effort in support of our community,” said Abbruscato.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than alongside our Knight Walkers.”

Abbruscato applauded the College’s growing involvement in the event and for all who helped to make the event a success.

NC’s Community Relations and Events Manager Carly Root, facilitated the event and coordinated volunteers. NC Student Administrative Council played a key role; providing food and drinks and a space for the teams to gather. Operations Manager Danny Cvetanovic ensured that walkers and their family members of all ages were well taken care of at the event. Facilities Management Services ensured that the campus was safe for walking.

Many others also contributed to the event’s success behind the scenes.

This year CNOTY drew 5,921 teams and 36,821 walkers from 182 locations across Canada and raised $72,000 for the event’s charity partners.

View the NC Knight Walkers’ team page on the CNOTY website.