Often we take for granted the little things like warmth and shelter, yet there are some in our community who struggle daily to get them.

Coldest Night Of The Year (CNOY), a fundraising event for Riverside Mission, hopes to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness which isn't just happening in big cities. It affects people right here in our area.

Brian Carney, CEO of Blue Sea Philanthropy that runs CNOY nationally, was in town this week and talked about what it's all about.

"Coldest Night Of The Year is... a fantastically fun, family friendly, walk-a-thon in support of the hungry, homeless, and hurting in our communities," Carney said. "And particularly for local charities that are doing the hard work, the front work in each of the communities across Canada...in 93 cities."

This is the first year the event is being held in Moose Jaw and Riverside Mission Chapline Jacob Oddie is happy to be on board.

"To solve the problem of hunger and homelessness you need the teamwork of a community. Coldest Night of the Year is very much a team focused, team oriented, team driven event, so you really need the strength and fellowship of a community coming together to solve this problem. Not one person, on their own, can solve this problem" said Oddie.

The fundraiser sees people raise support to walk in a 2k, 5k, or 10k course around the city of Moose Jaw to get just a small taste of what it would be like to be homeless in our community.

To register as a team captain, join as a walker, or just get more information, check out their website at ColdestNightOfTheYear.org.