Greetings!

I hope you're having a wonderful day.

I want to take a moment to thank you for your dedication to Winter Walk’s mission of ending homelessness. As you may know, we launched our 2025 Winter Walk campaign on October 10^th, 2024 in recognition of World Homeless Day, a day that reminds us that to truly conquer homelessness, we must unite our hearts with our resources.

The Winter Walk strives to create unity, magnifies kindness, and exemplifies the absolute best of our humanity. In our movement, there are no divisions visible, no conflicts brought to the fore - just pure love and a shared goal of lifting up those in need. In a time when our country feels so divided, this unity at our annual walk becomes more important than ever. By joining together, we can not only end homelessness but also strengthen our communities and our economy, and improve the quality of life for every person in our nation.

However, we do face significant challenges: right now, too much of our funding is being used to put out the fires of a local and national crisis that has persisted for decades. We lack the capital, time, and resources to focus on prevention and to build the sustainable, supportive systems that people need to re-enter safe spaces, rebuild their lives, and eventually rejoin the mainstream economy.

Winter Walk programs offer a clear path forward, but we need your help. Here's how you can get involved:

1. Bring Winter Walk's Educational Program: H.E.A.L. (Homeless Education, Advocacy, and Leadership) to your community, school, and workplace. Spread the word and advocate for solutions.
2. Register to walk and fundraise for our incredible service providers or consider donating to the Winter Walk General Fund to cover the registration cost for those who cannot afford it.
3. Please donate to our Stipend Fund, which benefits individuals who share their stories of lived experience, helping raise awareness and understanding.
4. Support our Professional Development Program, which equips those with lived experience to find meaningful employment and mentor others.

We are immensely grateful to the thousands of people who walk with us, to those who aid us in spreading awareness, who join us in our advocacy, who demand change.

We cannot wait any longer. We know what it takes to end homelessness. It takes all of us.

Thank you for standing with us. Let's continue this journey - together.

With gratitude,

Paulina Kusiak Daigle

Executive Director

P.S. Should your donation have already come in before receiving this letter, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for helping us on this critical mission! Thank you for making a difference.

Make a donation to the Winter Walk General Fund today!

Your donation to Winter Walk transforms into tangible programs helping hundreds of people.

$100 ensures that everyone can participate in the Winter Walk 2025. All our walks are open to everyone, regardless of their ability or inability to contribute or fundraise.

Nearly 60% of Winter Walk participants, many of whom are members of the unhoused community, cannot afford the registration fee. To make our event accessible to everyone, we do not make contributions mandatory and we need your help to keep the Walk inclusive and to celebrate our community.

$250 can provide a stipend to a community member, empowering them to share their story of homelessness with the larger community.

Economic realities present a challenge to defining the scope of homelessness, but the need to address the root causes and provide support for all facing the possibility or reality of homelessness is crucial. Each individual has a unique story – homelessness is their state of being, not their identity. All of them are our neighbors in need, and we can and must help them find their own voice.

$500 allows Winter Walk to bring our H.E.A.L. (Homeless Education, Advocacy, and Leadership) homelessness prevention and education program to a new community. 

Homelessness can touch the lives of those you know- people including your friends, classmates, family and neighbors. The Winter Walk knows that the next generation of leaders can change the world. We believe that if the youth of today understand the root causes of homelessness and how to break down stigmas while shifting perceptions, they can be a part of a movement greater than themselves to finally end homelessness.

$1,000 or more helps to provide full professional development training for one individual. The program ensures that those who have experienced homelessness can obtain long-term stability. The training equips them to find meaningful employment and achieve financial stability. It also enables members to share their stories effectively, and to mentor others with lived experience.

With a $1,000 annual donation to the Winter Walk General Fund, you'll join Walk This Way Circle, a platform where collective giving can bring about real change faster.

Join a community of philanthropists dedicated to making a significant impact in the fight against homelessness. Together, our combined resources can stretch each dollar further and achieve greater results.

The Winter Walk is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. This record of your donation should be kept for the purpose of satisfying Internal Revenue Service deduction requirements. Unless stated otherwise, no goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation.