COTS Walk

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About the Walk

Founded in 1988, the COTS Walk is one of our oldest and most important peer-to-peer fundraisers. Every year walkers of all ages from businesses, schools, religious organizations, and neighborhoods come together from all over the region to participate. The Walk begins and ends in Battery Park with music from Jenni & the Jazz Junketeers and Ali McGuirk and friends, as well as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and fun activities.

This family-friendly event guides Walkers along a 3.6-mile route through downtown Burlington visiting some of the shelters and facilities that COTS operates. At this event, COTS seeks to illustrate the path a person experiencing homelessness might take when utilizing COTS services to educate our community about homelessness in our region. Bring your friends, family, coworkers, dogs, and strollers…All are welcome! 

New on the route this year:
For more than 40 years, COTS has provided overnight shelter to adults at the Waystation program. However, the 36-bed shelter is typically full and in an aging building with considerable limitations. We are excited to share that we recently acquired a formerly federally owned building at 58 Pearl Street and that extensive renovations will be underway in May. This enhanced version of our Waystation program will expand its capacity by 55% and greatly improve the program space through trauma-informed design and a less congregate model.

This year's theme

The COTS Walk is designed to be educational, engaging, and interactive. Our 2025 Walk theme, which will be incorporated into all aspects of the Walk is: "Building a better future."

 Not only does COTS build new physical spaces to provide shelter, supportive services, and housing (including the new Waystation Adult Shelter location, new on the route this year!), we are also building a more just, inclusive, and equitable future for all by advocating for systemic change at all levels. Together, we can take action now to build a better future.

Walker Resources:

View or download here!

Save the Date!

Please join us! 

When: First Sunday in May; Sunday May 4th, 2025.

Where: Battery Park

Registration: begins at 1pm

Walk time: begins at 2pm

Who Walks?

Walkers of all ages, from businesses, schools, social and religious organizations, and neighborhoods come together from all over the region to participate in the annual COTS Walk.

Why Walk?

• To raise public awareness about homelessness in our community and to raise money.
• To support COTS shelters and services for Vermonters who are homeless or are at risk of losing their homes.