Operation Sharing Executive Director Shawn Shapton was blown away by the community support after the local Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser raised over $200,000 for The Inn of Oxford County.
OXFORD COUNTY - Operation Sharing is still buzzing after the Coldest Night of the Year raised over $200,000 for the Inn, Oxford's only homeless shelter.
Executive Director Shawn Shapton says this money will go a long way as they look to convert the Inn to a 24/7 operation.
"So one of the biggest pieces we are looking at right now is adding more staffing to this shelter. As we look to go 24/7 at some point in 2022, that is going to play a key role in to where the funds go. It is also going to go towards adding more meals, back in January we doubled the amount of beds that we have, so we are feeding twice as many people. It is also going to go towards some new intake software to help speed up the process for when people come to the shelter, to help get them inside and in the system faster."
The local Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser was organized by Scott McKague and Woodstock had the 4th highest fundraising total in all of Canada. Shapton says it was absolutely amazing to see the support over the weekend.
"Well over 350 people showed up to walk, it was literally a sea of blue and yellow toques and it really shows that this community really does care. This has been a divisive issue over the last 6 months to a year, that people care, that they want to help."
The homeless situation in Woodstock has generated a lot of discussion in the community over the past year. The tipping point came last year when Woodstock City Council voted to temporarily remove the benches from the downtown core, in an effort to make the downtown less appealing to the homeless population.
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