The 9th Annual 360°Experience
IT has been over a week now since we hosted our 9th annual 360°Experience, and we are proud to say that the it was a record-breaking night.
Back in December, we created a goal of raising $150,000 for our 360°kids programs and services and a hope that our community would be interested in gathering together once again for a worthy cause.
Read More: March 2, 2023 – The 360°Experience is back – 10th Anniversary!
Fast-forward to March 3rd at 8 p.m., 40 in-person participants and 120 virtual participants got outside in our community, in backyards, cars, porches, and all over York Region to stand up against youth homelessness. This was our very first hybrid 360°Experience and it turned out to be a roaring success.
Temperatures dipped to a frigid -13°C yet that didn’t stop our brave participants from staying outside till the bitter end. With open minds and hearts they learned firsthand just a little about what youth face every single night on the streets.
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Many faced eye-opening and life changing realizations after becoming stranded when buses stopped running, lost when phones died in the cold weather or sore from walking 16,000 steps over the course of a few hours – it was just a taste of what homeless youth face every night. We are so humbled by those that stepped up to the challenge.
We can not talk about the night without acknowledging our generous donors. We are blown away by those that helped us crush our original fundraising goal of $150,000 with weeks to spare before the event. We ended up increasing our goal three times because each week participants would surpass it. We have now hit over $334,000 this afternoon – a record for our event! These funds will go a long way in helping so many young people in York Region.
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We would also like to thank our partners and sponsors, who without their support the night would not be possible. Thank you to our title sponsor ABC Technologies, our media sponsor 105.9 The Region, our partners the York Regional Police. Thank you to our event sponsors Benson Kearley IFG, Kingdom Canada, AGF Rebar Fondnation, Tim Hortons, PTAG, Interworld Paper, IG Wealth, Rudner Law, FCT and York Region.
READ MORE: Ontario cop finds person living in shack during dangerously cold night in Toronto
Finally, a big thank you to everyone in our community who took part or volunteered! Your support and dedication will continue to go a long way in making a positive change in the lives of our at-risk and homeless youth. We can not wait to see you all next year!
View our event gallery below:
