We are just $5,483.69 shy of reaching our fundraising goal for the 37th Annual COTS Walk!

We are thrilled to share that we are just $5,483.69 shy of reaching our fundraising goal of $220,000 for the 37th Annual COTS Walk! Your incredible support and generosity have brought us so close to our goal, and we are immensely grateful for each and every contribution. With your continued help, we are confident that we can reach this milestone together. Thank you for making a difference in our community.

This year's COTS Walk theme is Every Story Deserves a Home. For eons, stories have been the foundations of our lives. Stories taught us how to survive, who we are, how we got here, and taught us how to live together. Stories around the hearth served as history, long before the written word. Each of us carries a story of our family, of the trials and tribulations of generations, that often define a piece of who we are today. The Mozambican writer and biologist Mia Couto offers this advice “Listen, and you will realize that we are made not from cells or from atoms. We are made from stories.” Every Story matters, and we believe that Every Story Deserves a Home.

Over the course of the last year, 39 families with 66 kids stayed in the COTS Family Shelter. Every family and every kid has a story, and those kids are the stories of our community’s future. 161 individuals stayed with us at the COTS Waystation; that’s 161 stories that should matter deeply to our community, because if we listen, they will tell us what we are missing. 1,845 unique individuals, with 1,845 unique and important stories, came to the Daystation for a meal, a shower, to get laundry done, to be seen and to be heard. 66 families with 123 kiddos were cared for by our Family Supportive Housing Team in their homes throughout the county; again, those 123 stories are the vitally important stories that will shape our collective future. In the COTS housing portfolio, 169 people have a permanent, affordable roof over their head, all stories that matter, and stories that are now part of the story of COTS.

An important part of our community’s story is that 75% percent of our single adult guests identify as having a disabling condition, which include chronic health issues, physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, mental health issues, and substance use disorder. All of these fall into the health care arena, so we can understand our community as facing twin crises, one of housing, and one of health care. Recognizing this, COTS has responded by focusing on key partnerships. Recovery coaches from the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County are now embedded in both the Daystation and the Waystation 7 days a week, a first of its kind in the State of Vermont. Two days a week, Community Health Centers of Burlington are at the Waystation and Daystation, offering medical triage, appointments, medication management and connection to primary health care to our guests. Weekly, UVM health is onsite to assist our Daystation guests to connect to health care, listening to their stories, and meeting them where they are.

Our stories define us, our stories help us understand the past, and our stories drive us toward the future. As Frederick Buechner said, “My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it anything like right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours… “

Thank you to all our amazing walkers, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and staff for coming together and making this year's event a success! 99 dedicated volunteers and over 500 enthusiastic Walkers. Together, we raised $214,516.31. Your unwavering support ensures that our shelters, programs, and services continue to thrive and make a difference in our community. COTS Walk donations are a main source of funding for our shelters, programs, and services.

Everyone at COTS wants to say that we deeply appreciate you - for walking, fundraising, supporting, and helping to raise awareness about homelessness in our community. It was inspiring to Walk with you.

Thank you, to all of our incredible sponsors!