Community Response Unit supports Coldest Night of the Year in Saint John

by Maritime
Categories: News Archive
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    Hot chocolate and bottled water were in high demand from The Salvation Army’s Community Response Unit (CRU) last weekend as it supported the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser in Saint John, NB.

    Coldest Night of the Year is a national walk fundraiser that takes place in over 80 locations across the country. Intrepid participants braved the cold to walk routes of 2.5, 5 or 10 kilometres on Saturday, Feb. 21. Ready and waiting as a rest stop on the route, the CRU served nearly 200 people on the night, with water, granola bars and hot chocolate.

    WEB1“We had a lot of people lined up in front of the CRU,” Joel Johnston, Community Response Coordinator for The Salvation Army in Saint John, said. “The participants were really thankful that we were there to serve.”

    The CRU is a mobile canteen based in Saint John that allows The Salvation Army to quickly respond in times of crisis all over New Brunswick. The CRU responds when called upon to all forms of disaster, including fires and floods, assisting affected residents and supporting first responders. The CRU also provides direct food support to identified areas of need within the community.

    This winter, the CRU was called out to an apartment fire earlier in the month that drove 11 people from their homes.

    The unit continues to serve the community as well. Each week, on Tuesday and Friday, it travels around to the various food banks in the city and serves food to people as they come and go. It also recently partnered with St. Patrick’s School to deliver lunch to the students each Monday.