Main Street Project (MSP) in Winnipeg is $15,000 short of its Into the Cold fundraising goal.
“We rely heavily on donations to do a lot of the work that we do here,” said Cindy Titus, MSP’s communication manager. “We do a lot of work in the city in terms of supporting a community that’s very marginalized. Every dollar really helps us continue to be able to do that work.”
This year, the goal is to raise $35,000 by the end of the day on March 31, with every dollar going toward funding the organization’s front-line services.
“That impacts all of our programming including our emergency shelter, case management, mobile outreach, withdrawal management services, housing, and food and nutrition services,” Titus said.
Since March first, she said over $19,000 has been raised — which is already more than last year. But since moving to its new location on the corner of Main Street and Logan Avenue in 2021, MSP has seen an increase in demand.
At its previous emergency shelter, MSP “was sleeping about 75 people a night, and now we’re at 120 people a night,” she said.
When it comes to food services, Titus said about 100 individuals and families would make use of the programming. Now more than 150 people do.
“The need is growing. The cost of everything is quite high. Food costs are very high, fuel, rent is very high. The need for our services is always high in demand,” she said.
Donations can be made to Into the Cold at mainstreeproject.ca.