It's been 17 years since I started working in emergency shelters.  12 of those have been at Newmarket Inn from the Cold.

For the last few years, I've not been as active in the shelter, to make sure I am home with our children.  In a time when so many of our neighbours are homeless or at risk, it's been hard to step back, but Meghan and I are working hard to teach our children to care about people around them.

So, I sat down at the keyboard to write this year's pitch for Coldest Night - the Inn's most important annual fundraiser.  Billy and I have walked together for about four years, and for the first time this year, Klara will join us too.  Some Christmas music helped get me in the mood.

The third song was Good King Wenceslas - my favourite carol - and it energized me.  It's a a story of someone of privilege (like us) who understands that they are called to care - much like the dedicated people at Inn from the Cold.

The Inn is still a place where staff and volunteers work together.  The staff bring professional skills and connections to other caregivers and supports.  The volunteers bring a special warmth - things like home baked cookies, a smile, and a friendly voice - that makes the Inn special.  More than an emergency shelter, Newmarket Inn from the Cold is a hub of services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.  It's a place to find a hand up when people are ready.  The client show it too in their appreciation.  One of the best parts of Coldest Night is old clients, back to volunteer, telling us how they are thriving now.

This year is important - you can watch the Inn's new, permanent home going up on Yonge Street.  For the first time, we will have a permanent home purpose-built to serve our people.  I'm proud to have played a small part in planning that project, starting in a boardroom several years ago and imagining a space where care was put first.

It's hard work every day to care.  But there are people who show the way.  "Mark my footsteps," Wenceslas urges the page . . . and in their Master's steps they pushed on through the drifting snow.

Will you donate and help light the way?  Thank you.