Local Teacher Sleeping Outside For A Week To Raise Money For Youth Emergency Shelter

Local teacher Aaron McFadden will be sleeping outside, for the second year in a row, to raise money for the Youth Emergency Shelter (YES).

Aaron McFadden and Brooke Erickson (YES). Photo courtesy of Aaron McFadden.

Last year after COVID cancelled McFadden’s travel plans he thought he would put the money he had saved for his trip to good use. He donated it to YES, and decided he would sleep outside, during the coldest week of the year, to raise awareness and money for youth homelessness and YES.

“I have three kids and I’m a teacher,” said McFadden. “Just recognizing that the Youth Emergency Shelter has always been an important charity. I’ve gone there, as a teacher, there’s a lot of good work and learning that happens there It’s such an important resource in our community, it was easy to pick them to donate to.”

This year McFadden’s fundraiser will look a bit different. He will be spending his nights outside beginning on Sunday until Feb. 21.

Because he is back to full time teaching he will only be sleeping outside for 12 hours at a time, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

“I realized, just because I’m working doesn’t mean I can’t do this,” he said. “As a teacher we do things together, we don’t do things on our own.”

McFadden hopes that his campaign will encourage people to participate in the virtual sleep out being hosted on March 25.

The virtual sleep out encourages participants to educate themselves on homelessness and share their learnings with other participants, friends and family.

McFadden’s fundraiser page can be found here. Updates throughout the week will be posted to the event Facebook page. His goal for this year it $1,500.

McFadden also hopes that his week long sleepout will bring attention to other initiatives happening around the city.

The Coldest Night of The Year walk is a family-friendly walk to raise money for local charities serving people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness.

The Meaning of Home contest invites children in grades 4-6 to enter a piece of writing sharing what home means to them. Each entry will result in a $10 donation to Peterborough’s local Habitat for Humanity organization. This contest ends on Friday.

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