It may not literally have been the coldest night of the year, but the Coldest Night of the Year fun family fundraiser brought awareness towards homelessness in Kelowna.

Hosted by Metro Community, the Coldest Night of the Year raised $56,804 towards creating a day-time centre for the community, said Metro Community lead pastor Laurence East.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a national event that takes place in 40 to 50 different locations in Canada. We kinda just want to do it better than before,含羞草研究社� he said, as Metro Community has hosted the event for the past two years.

Eleanor Garcia walked in the event for the first time.

含羞草研究社淭he reason I decided to come out is to support what I feel is a really good organization. I含羞草研究社檓 a really big fan of Metro Community. I think it含羞草研究社檚 necessary for our city to have a presence on the street downtown. There含羞草研究社檚 a lot of people that are in a difficult place in their lives that need a helping hand or a warm place to sleep,含羞草研究社� she said.

Participants were handed toques and warmed up with Zumba before walking different routes to raise awareness towards homelessness.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 having fun, it含羞草研究社檚 a family-friendly event,含羞草研究社� said East.

Metro Community already has the building, on the corner of St. Paul Street and Coronation Avenue. The building will be renovated to have a coffee shop, a safe centre for women and a co-working space for social agencies, said East.

The routes had participants walk the downtown area, where homelessness is more noticeable. 含羞草研究社淚t made sense to do the walk in the downtown,含羞草研究社� said East.

More than 300 people participated in the walk which started at Sandhill Wines, Feb. 25.