As the weather continues to reach below freezing points, more and more of the homeless populations in the Kitchener-Waterloo region are seeking refuge.
In order to help combat the rising rates of homelessness in the winter season, Cec Joyal, a development officer at Wilfrid
Laurier University, has been collecting Roll Up the Rim winnings from Tim Horton’s cups to donate to Out of the Cold, a local program that provides temporary shelter and meals during the winter.
“I was rolling up a rim,” Joyal said. “I thought to myself to give it to a homeless person.”
Joyal explained that sometimes there are homeless people outside of Tim Horton’s and by simply giving them these Roll Up the Rim winnings, so much help can be done.
After Joyal launched this idea back in 2007, she began spreading the word of her newfound charitable exercise through word of mouth and posters around Wilfrid Laurier.
Soon the cause began to take flight with a Roll Up the Rim campaign being featured on several television and radio stations, and even developing its own website.
The Roll Up the Rim campaign has become extremely successful, allowing Joyal to raise more and more winnings every year.
“We collected close to six hundred in 2013,” stated Joyal.
This year, Joyal is hoping to collect an even larger amount of winnings, something that may be needed giving rising rates of homelessness in the area.
A report released in Sept. 2013 by the Region of Waterloo indicated that 3,447 individuals were recorded to be seeking emergency shelter in 2012.
In a separate study, the region social services department noted a 224 per cent increase in the numbers of those seeking homeless shelters from 2008.
Joyal has been volunteering with Out of the Cold every year in hopes of making the lives of the homeless a little bit better during the winter season.
She has been volunteering for the Out of the Cold program for 25 years, since it started in 1999.
“I was so thankful when the program started,” Joyal said.
By simply donating Roll Up the Rim winnings to the homeless, volunteering with shelters or donating old clothing and canned foods, average citizens are able to help improve a person’s life.
Students can help out by donating Roll Up the Rim winnings to International News, as there will be a drop-off box in that location.