Three men will stay on the Colchester Green from Friday, Feb. 9 to Sunday Feb. 11 in a movement they’ve named “Freezin’ for a Reason.”
“The camaraderie of being with a couple of good friends, the chance to help our community and give back,” said Rob Suchecki of Colchester.
The goal aims, in part, to awareness for Connecticut’s homeless population and raise money for the Colchester Fuel Bank.
“Being a small town, you can see more of the need, whereas a big city, it’s kind of one those, can’t see the forest because of the trees kinds of things,” said Suchecki.
And, with an old oil barrel used as their heat source, the money raised will help low-income families pay for heating expenses.
“People have to choose this time of year between medications and heat, and I’ve actually been at peoples’ houses where they have the heat at 50 degrees,” said Fred Brown. “That’s not safe.”
This year marks nine in a row spent outdoors, and is one of the warmer ones, too. That’s not necessarily a good thing.
“The colder the better,” said Brown. “I mean, obviously being warmer is better for us but it’s not good for donations because a line I’ve used recently is, ‘When it gets to be really warm, it’s a few guys getting away from their wives for a weekend.’”
Luckily by now, they’re a familiar group. They show up and the town gives them a reason to stay.
“People know that we’re going to do this,” said Walt Cox. “They still ask, ‘Are you still going to do this every year?’ and here we are again, trying to do the best we can to raise money.”
They’ve raised as much as $16,000 in a single weekend, two years ago when temperatures were well below freezing. Given this year’s conditions, the group hopes to raise $10,000 or more.
