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It All Began 15 Years Ago…
As a volunteer, Larry Matthews had been working directly with people experiencing homelessness in Toronto for over a decade. The need was great, the nights were cold, and people wanted to help—they just didn’t know how. He worked hard to connect the dots, putting his fundraising prowess to work, taking meetings, hosting events, and looking for creative ways to build awareness and support for local charities.
At the same time, Ann Barnard Ball was planning a gala to raise funds for Yonge Street Mission (YSM). On the big night, guests arrived dressed to the nines, they ate and drank and gave—a resounding success by all measures. When she left the event, she saw an all too familiar sight, a small group of unhoused people going about their evening, their breath visible in the air. The juxtaposition was too real…. It felt off. She was ready to find a new type of fundraising event for YSM that was a better fit with their mission.
About 1 Hour Away…
On a frigid evening, Harry Whyte and his Fundraising Director, Scott Brush, stood at the heart of Kitchener’s Ray of Hope Community Centre. Just weeks earlier, the Centre had taken a bold step, merging with another facility to create a seven-day-a-week operation to serve the city’s most vulnerable. The transformation came with a massive $800,000 mortgage and an urgent need for more funds and more volunteers. Ray of Hope had never been a major fundraising organization—but this new chapter demanded something bigger. Harry and Scott knew they needed more than just money; they needed a way to galvanize the community.
Enter Brian, Mika, and A Big Idea.
Meanwhile, Brian Carney and Mika Takamaki were meeting at a Tim Horton’s because Brian had an idea and was eager to share it.
A few years earlier, inspiration had struck Brian on a flight to Costa Rica. He grabbed the inflight magazine and wrote out five words: Coldest Night of the Year. In the margins he scribbled ideas about a wintertime walk, cold weather swag, stoking Canadian spirit, and a few other (now) illegible thoughts. When he got home he started researching the idea, he workshopped it with his mentor-and-friend Larry Matthews, and then let it simmer in the back of his mind until the time was right.

Fast-forward to Timmy’s where, over a couple of coffees-with-cream, Brian and Mika leaned in to find a way to combine this new Coldest Night of the Year idea with the insights they’d gleaned from launching the Ride for Refuge cycling fundraiser. On the back of a napkin they brainstormed, ideated, and finally signed what became known as “The Tim Horton’s Accord.” That scrap of paper would become what we now know and love as CNOY.
Brian connected with Larry who then reached out to Ann. Together they connected with a second charity in Toronto, Sanctuary, whose leadership they all knew. Brian booked a breakfast with Harry and Scott.
The initial goal was modest: raise $40,000 combined and bring attention to their work. However, the vision was anything but ordinary. Participants wouldn’t walk on a sunny summer’s day; they would brave the bitter February cold, in a nod to the experience of people experiencing homelessness. The date circled on Brian’s calendar was only six weeks away. Could they do it?
It was only forty days.
It was untested.
It was a big dream.
It was time to get to work.
Let’s Go
Harry and Scott were in. They donned white toques all day, every day sparking conversations, and spreading the word.
“We knew it would be something amazing before it even happened,” Harry remembers, “The number of people signing up, the team captains hard at work, the donations coming in, the idea—we just knew.”
The Toronto charities gathered their troops, sending invitations far and wide. Mika and Brian drove back and forth to Toronto, pounding the pavement, calling churches, recruiting teams.
Everyone was all hands on deck, working around the clock. The office was a coffee shop. The meeting table—linoleum. The web and design work was being done off the sides of desks on evenings and weekends. It was happening: one piece, one idea, one step at a time.
Forty Days Later: The First Ever Coldest Night of the Year
The day arrived: February 21, 2011. It was cold and very snowy. The discomfort mattered—those walking could choose to avoid it but they didn’t.
It was cold, it was snowy, and it was incredible.
Larry remembers, “On the very first walk, I was struck by how much joy there was. People were thrilled to be there, to be together, and to be making a difference in the lives of people experiencing homelessness.”
Hundreds walked through the blustery streets of Kitchener and Toronto, their matching toques a beacon of light in a dark night. That $40,000 fundraising goal? They surpassed it by $70,000—raising a combined total of $110,000 in just forty days. It was a moving reminder of how powerful we can be when we come together for good.
The Work Wasn’t Done
After that first year, CNOY began expanding across Canada, gathering energy and enthusiasm like the walkers themselves on event day. What started with just two charities grew to include 18 charity partners the following year.
In Lethbridge, Alberta, Streets Alive was ready to say yes without hesitation. Their team was itching to bring people into their fold, but lacked the tools and momentum to make it happen. CNOY was the very thing they needed. They are still walking today.
On the shores of Prince Edward Island, Harvest House PEI teetered on the brink of closure. With every passing day, the question loomed larger: how much longer could they keep their doors open? They received a call from Mika, decided to take the plunge and host CNOY, and raised $30,000. Ten years later their annual CNOY campaign brings in more than double that–and still climbing!
In Nelson, BC, population 10,000, the town rallied with similar enthusiasm. Known for its quiet winters, a local joked, “There’s not much to do in Nelson in February.” 500 walkers came together and raised a whopping $50,000—a testament to the power of collective effort, even in Canada’s smaller communities.
Today, thousands of charities have raised over $84,000,000. Tens of thousands of people across Canada and the USA have walked in CNOY, earning their toques through stellar fundraising, and in turn, telling their communities that they care about people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness. By the late 2010s CNOY participants were adding over $100,000 a day to the fundraising leaderboard—more funds than were raised in that entire first year.
But the amazing power of CNOY lies not just in its potential for charities; everyone can join the fun—including corporations. And the impact there has been no less incredible.

The Businesses Buy In
It was 2015 when Brian hired Jen Taylor. At a peer-to-peer fundraising conference, Brian and Jen heard the words, “The USA is good at managing corporate engagement, but Canada isn’t.” For the leaders at Blue Sea, it was all the challenge they needed.
Jen was determined to tackle sponsorships and corporate giving head-on. She learned all she could and then started calling charities. With a little effort, and a lot of passion, CNOY’s corporate sponsorships went from $131,000 to $260,000 in just one year. But the CNOY team wanted more than just corporate dollars—they wanted to build a deeper connection between companies, their employees, and the communities they served.
That vision gave rise to the Corporate Challenge, an initiative encouraging organizations to rally their employees to take part and create local change. The response was overwhelming. Businesses across Canada embraced the Challenge and exceeded all expectations.

In 2024, CNOY locations across Canada and the US received $2 million in business sponsorships. The Corporate Challenge brings in another $2 million of funds for charities across the country, engaging employees and creating impact.
Together for Good
This is not a story about how CNOY has helped charities. It’s a story about how passionate people making a difference in their communities have come together to make CNOY what it is today—an international movement that empowers people to do something meaningful in the fight against hurt, hunger, and homelessness.
The Future of CNOY
Moving forward, CNOY is poised for significant growth in the USA, requiring many Americans to adopt the word “toque.”

Why is CNOY heading down south? Because people there need help too. Homelessness in the United States is “an urgent public health issue and humanitarian crisis.” Thousands of charities in every state are fighting against increased need and the everpresent hurt, hunger, and homelessness in their communities. Coldest Night of the Year offers them a new, meaningful way to raise funds, gather the community, build buzz, and engage corporate support. In 2025, “CNOYers” will be taking to the streets in 63 USA locations, up 57.5% from the previous year.
With every dollar raised and every step taken, CNOY strives to empower charities, communities, and corporations to come together for good. Even after 15 years, this is just the beginning.
