About 250 people laced up their sneakers and stepped into the cold, not just for exercise, but for empathy.
New Journey Community Outreach held its fourth annual Coldest Night of the Year walk/run Saturday on the grounds of Penn State Berks in Spring Township.
The outreach joined 75 organizations nationwide in the family-friendly fundraiser aimed at raising awareness of and critical funds for those experiencing hunger and homelessness.
Proceeds from the Berks County event stay local, supporting the nonprofit’s work in Reading, according to Christie Botterbusch, executive director of New Journey Community Outreach.
“It’s our biggest fundraiser,” she said.
In 2025 the event raised $51,000, Botterbusch said. Totals were slightly lower this year, despite a strong turnout. The 250 walkers marked the highest participation in the local event’s history, she said.
Beyond the fundraising, Botterbusch said, the event helps increase awareness.
“When we can have people together to learn about what’s happening in our community and how they can support their neighbors as a community member, that’s just as important,” she said.
Organizers address the crowd at Penn State Berks before the start of New Journey Community Outreach’s Coldest Night of the Year walk Feb. 28. The event raises funds for and awareness of those experiencing hunger and homelessness in Berks County. (Courtesy of Matthew Brocchi)
The premise behind the winter 5K is to step outside in the cold and consider what it means for those who don’t have the option to go back inside, she said.
While participants warmed up afterward with hot chocolate and soup, that is not an option for some county residents experiencing homelessness, Botterbusch said.
“The event really serves as a reminder that this is how some people have to live,” she said. “They’re living in these cold conditions. They are outside, they are unsheltered. And while we are able to go back inside after the walk, not everybody has that option. Shelters are full.”
Last year’s Point-in-Time Count, a one-night census measuring the number of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, recorded the highest number of unsheltered individuals in Berks since tracking began, she said.
“It’s an issue that we see every day,” Botterbusch said.
About half of New Journey’s daily lunch guests are unhoused. The organization now serves 350 to 400 lunches daily from its site at 138 S. Sixth St.
Beyond meals, New Journey provides guests with a food pantry and clothes closet and connects them with housing resources, medical care through Tower Health Medical Group’s Street Medicine Program and outreach teams from the Berks Coalition to End Homelessness.
“We really are a critical entry point to supportive services,” Botterbusch said. “It’s really a collaborative effort to support guests who cannot access the traditional shelter systems for whatever reason.”
The organization recently secured a lease for its entire building and is looking to expand services to include case management, recovery support, laundry facilities and potentially showers.
The long-term vision is to create a centralized resource hub where partner agencies can co-locate social services, Botterbusch said.
“Yes, we can offer lockers, laundry, showers, meals,” she said, “but then also immediate connection to these other resource points.”
The goal, she said, is to make help as seamless as possible.
New Journey has grown steadily in recent years, she said, attributing the expansion of services to the nonprofit’s accessibility.
“It speaks to the importance of having a resource where you can just walk in,” she said. “It’s a very important entry point to the safety net service network. I think that might sometimes be underestimated.”
The Coldest Night walk helps ensure that first door remains open, Botterbusch said.