School Challenge

Challenge

Want to use the powers of your local school, college, or university to activate and improve your community? Step up and get involved in the Coldest Night of the Year, a winterrific walk-a-thon to raise money for local charities serving people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness. Here’s what you can do...

1. Pick a Leader

You’ll need a leader, commander, captain: someone who can steer the CNOY ship and has a natural talent for bringing people together. This can be a teacher, principal, staff member, or administrator - anyone with a big heart who can get students excited about CNOY.

2. Connect with Your Local Charity

Reach out to a local charity in your community that is already participating in Coldest Night of the Year. (You can find an official CNOY charity close to you by visiting cnoy.com/locations.)

Talk to them about supporting their work through your own school CNOY - they’ll be overjoyed! The charity is your main CNOY contact point; they’ll supply you with resources to help make your walk fun.

3. Pick a Route, Date, and Time

Create a route for your school walk that is easy for your students to access - in most cases, this should be on your school’s campus. Outdoors is best (around a soccer field for example), but in a pinch you can even walk the halls or around your school’s gymnasium.

Then, select a date and time that fits in well with your school’s schedule. We highly recommend walking between February 20 and 25 - this is the week preceding CNOY’s official event date. Closer to the evening is better (since this is the Coldest Night of the Year).

4. Sign Up Online

You’re going to need a team page to collect online donations! The leader you’ve selected should be the captain of this team and the ‘face’ of this school event.

Register online at cnoy.com/register.

Choose your location + charity, accept the waiver, and select Start a Team - your team name can be the name of your school, or something more fun.

Pick a goal! Something that your students can get excited about and isn’t too daunting.

Under The Challenge, enter your school’s name in ‘Organization Name’ and select Community > Schools as your category.

Set your walk to Offsite since you’ll be walking on your own school campus.

Presto - you’ve got your own team page link!

5. Tell People About It

Get the word out! You’re walking & fundraising for CNOY, say it loud and proud. Promote widely - share your team page link with students and encourage them to join, fundraise, and collect pledges. Hype it up, incentivize, and recognize hard workers.

A few ideas to get the ball rolling:

Extra, Extra! Got a newsletter? Include a story about how awesome CNOY will be at your school!

Everyone Get $50! Encourage everyone to reach a modest minimum. Reward goal-getters with a sticker!

Friendly Rivalry. Set up competitions between classes, or even challenge another school to see who can raise more for your local charity!

FAQ

What about CNOY toques?

Sorry, toques are for participants in the main event only! School events will not be shipped boxes of toques for event day. If students have their hearts set on earning a toque, they are welcome to sign up online to attend a CNOY main event - they must raise $150 to earn their toque ($75 if they are under 18).

What about insurance?

Our liability coverage does not extend to your school, nor any activity you or your participants decide to pursue. CNOY’s insurance only applies to participants attending the main event during event day, not to offsite events.

What about waivers?

CNOY Waivers are not required for any school-based event, since neither the local charity nor the national CNOY headquarters are extending insurance for your event. However, schools may collect their own waivers from participants if they choose to do so.

Where can we walk?

We prefer you walk offsite (preferably on your school’s grounds), not at your charity’s main event. Most CNOY events simply do not have the capacity to accommodate the volume of participants that schools would entail.

How do we enter pledges?

Login to your team page Fundhub, visit ‘Enter $$ and Checks’, and follow the instructions to pay off the pledges by credit card. Eligible donors will automatically receive tax receipts.

Still Have Questions?