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Everywhere you
turned there were Santas - not to mention
elves and reindeer - at the Delki Dozzi track
Dec. 6, as Sudburians took part in the Santa
Shuffle charity fun run.
Here in Sudbury,
the event raises funds for the operation of
Cedar Place, a 28-bed emergency shelter for
women and families that’s operated by
the Salvation Army.
The Santa Shuffle was started 35 years ago
in Edmonton by a running club that wanted
to raise money for the Salvation Army, and
has spread across Canada, first being held
in Sudbury in 2004, said Barbara Ridley, executive
director of Cedar Place.
The event featured
a one-kilometre fun run around the Delki Dozzi
track for families, as well as a five-kilometre
run for those wanting a bit more exercise.
Ridley said 250
people were registered to take part in the
event, and she hoped to bring in $60,000 for
the shelter, which is also funded in part
by the City of Greater Sudbury.
While it’s
a fun event, it has a serious purpose. Those
accessing the Cedar Place shelter must be
“absolutely homeless,” she said,
adding that the shelter even brings in families
who have been living in tents.
“We turn
away 120 people a month,” Ridley said.
But the shelter
is “very happy to have our facility,”
she said, which she describes as a lovely,
big, old Victorian house, “with lots
of stairs and small bedrooms. But you know,
it works.”
Shelter staff
try best to make things special for residents
this time of year, with decorations, presents
and a special meal. “The community has
been so good and gracious to us,” Ridley
said.
Heidi
Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant
editor.
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