In 2024, Yonge Street Mission (YSM) will host its inaugural YSM Winter Walk for Neighbours in Need

Join us on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at St. Paul’s Bloor Street, 227 Bloor St. E., in midtown Toronto for a fun, family-friendly 2 or 5 km fundraising winter walk. To learn more about the walk, watch our video

By participating, you’ll generate support for street-involved youth, families in need and adults experiencing generational poverty, all of whom are served by YSM.

The goal for this important inaugural event is to raise $180,000 (gross), to offer support to as many community members as possible – at a time when need for the over 100 programs and services offered by YSM is at an all-time high.

For struggling neighbours, it’s certainly cold out. But, by gathering together, at the YSM Winter Walk, we can extend warmth and comfort to all who need it in our city.

How you can participate:

Register today!

Plan to walk either 2 or 5 km, and fundraise, in support of Toronto residents experiencing hardship. Our in-person event starting at St. Paul’s Bloor St.will offer a rest stop with refreshments, snacks and a community dinner at the end. Please join us for our heartwarming community event!

Click here to join us as a walker! We look forward to journeying with you and your teammates!

Volunteer!

We can’t organize and execute this important event without the help of many. There are a variety of volunteer roles and opportunities – we invite you to see how you might want to contribute. We welcome you, your friends and family!

Click here to volunteer! We thank you for your time and support!

Become a Sponsor!

With the valued investment of aligned corporate and community partners, we can ensure the YSM Winter Walk for Neighbours in Need will be a financial success, able to ensure relief, services and wrap-around care for the record numbers of community members who turn to Yonge Street Mission for supportive programming. 

We offer competitive sponsorship benefits to help your organization reach a wide audience to promote your products or services, while publicly aligning with a long-established social service charity dedicated to changing lives for the better and building community in Toronto. 

Yonge Street Mission relies on valued organizations like yours to advance our vitally important work. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities – which will help us to eradicate generational poverty and transform Toronto – please contact Angela Solomos – VP, Philanthropy, by email to: asolomos@ysm.ca or telephone (416) 929-9614, ext. 4248.

Supporter thank yous:

VENUE PARTNER
ICICLE SPONSOR
ICICLE SPONSOR
GOODS AND SERVICES PARTNER
Tim Hortons logo
GOODS AND SERVICES PARTNER

Reasons to participate in YSM’s Winter Walk

The facts:

  • Toronto’s poverty rate today is 13.2%, higher than Canada’s overall poverty rate (11.1%) and Ontario’s rate (10.1%).
  • Toronto is Canada’s child poverty capital – 1 in 10 children in our city live in poverty today.
  • 363,955 Toronto residents struggle with poverty: 37% are female single parents, and 46% are recent immigrants.
  • In 2023, there were 2.53 million visits to Toronto food banks, a far higher total number than ever recorded in our city’s history.
  • Demand for YSM’s Food Bank has increased 247% in just one year, from 2021 to 2022. 
  • An average of 855 families are served weekly at YSM’s Food Bank.
  • 31% of Toronto’s homeless residents are between the ages of 16-24.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding registering as a walker, volunteering or about donating, please contact Eleanor Edwards at eedwards@ysm.ca or call (647) 466-1865.

The solution to poverty is community! Let’s come together in YSM’s Winter Walk  to help end generational poverty in Toronto.