A community of care emerged in Evanston on January 17th, as almost 600 people turned out to walk in sub-freezing temperatures to raise money for those experiencing homelessness and hunger and to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Interfaith Action of Evanston’s third annual Walk for Warmth generated more than $40,000 to support programs that provide warm spaces for those in need, including the Emergency Overnight Shelter, the Warming Center, and the Hospitality Center, as well as daily soup kitchens.
“We were blown away by the response,” says Anne Heinz, who originated the idea for the walk and chairs its organizing committee. “Two years ago, we had 250 people and that seemed amazing. It’s wonderful to see a community come together in concern for the people for whom Dr. King was most concerned.”
Setting the pace were a Leadership Team of Interfaith Action President Melissa Appelt, the Rev. Michael Nabors, Evanston NAACP and Senior Pastor, Second Baptist Church; Mayor Daniel Biss; City Council member Eleanor Revelle, and Evanston Community Foundation President and CEO Sol Anderson, while other community leaders followed, including Acting City Manager Kelley Gandurski, City Council members Clare Kelly, Melissa Wynne, Jonathan Nieuwsma, and Peter Braithwaite as well as Evanston Police Department Interim Chief Rich Eddington, and Kimberly Krull, Division Chief, Evanston Fire Department.
“We are so grateful to all who came out or donated,” Appelt commented. “We are also very appreciative of the Evanston Police Department, which did a wonderful job, enabling us to move safely through downtown in view of many of the sites where our programs are offered.”