More than 350 people braved single-digit temperatures to attend the sixth annual Walk for Warmth and raise money for Interfaith Action of Evanston’s programs to serve people who are unhoused.
Gathering first in the United Methodist Church of Evanston sanctuary to hear a trio of speakers champion dignity, justice and concern for all, the walkers of all ages then marched around the block on which the church sits. Attendees could also view photos of the nine churches which house IAE’s Overnight Shelter, providing warm beds for 30 men and women every night from mid-October through May.
Interfaith Action Board President Donna Richardson welcomed the large crowd and greeted dignitaries including Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, Evanston Council members Juan Geracaris, Krissie Harris, Clare Kelly, Jonathan Nieuwsma, Eleanor Revelle, and Melissa Wynne, NAACP, Evanston/North Shore Branch President Rev. Michael Nabors and Evanston Community Foundation President Sol Anderson.
Jeron Dorsey, team manager for Crisis Alternative Response Evanston (CARE), spoke to those assembled about the critical work his organization is doing, addressing calls for assistance, handling thousands of calls since its start in July of 2024. Dorsey admitted the work can be difficult and emotional but underlined its value in protecting the most vulnerable and cited an inspirational quote that helps him keep going.
“People don't burn out because of what they do, they burn out because they forget why they do it,” he said.
Rev. Britt Cox, executive pastor at First United Methodist Church of Evanston, reminded the crowd that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on whose day the Walk for Warmth is held annually, had spoken from the pulpit of her church, and cited his view that “every human being is deserving of dignity” and that everyone needs to “live out radical love and justice.”
In blessing the crowd before the walk, Rabbi Andrea London of Beth Emet the Free Synagogue, reminded walkers that King spoke to her congregation in 1958, before his 29th birthday, saying “I believe in the future because I believe in God.” Despite challenges that King acknowledged, he encouraged everyone to act out their faith, in the belief that redemption is possible, but can come in stages, she noted.