MOOSE JAW — Most people attempt to take 10,000 steps per day for good health, but a group of men plans to walk one million steps in a day to support Moose Jaw Transition House.
For three years, about 25 men have participated in the “Night Out in the Cold” fundraiser, which supports the domestic violence shelter’s mission to provide housing for women and children and engage in community outreach.
That event — normally held in November — occurs during the global White Ribbon Campaign, which began in 1991 in response to the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre. The mass murderer who killed 14 women in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989, was explicitly motivated by a hatred of all women.
However, the 2024 Night Out in the Cold never took place, so John Iatridis, owner of The Mad Greek restaurant, contacted the group and suggested doing something else to support the Transition House financially.
“I … said that’s money I’m sure (Transition House) relies on, and there were a lot of guys feeling bad that we missed out on (Night Out in the Cold), so we decided to do this,” Iatridis said.
Those talks led to “Step Up For Her,” a fundraiser that starts the evening of Friday, March 7 and walks into the morning hours of Saturday, March 8 — International Women’s Day, he continued. About 30 men plan to walk one million steps collectively during those 24 hours.
The group brainstormed some names for the event — Walk a Mile in Her Shoes was one suggestion, similar to a Regina event — before settling on Step Up For Her, thanks to input from Jenn Angus, executive director of Transition House, Iatridis added.
“I think it’s amazing. These guys really do step up … ,” said Angus. “This is all them just going above and beyond and saying, ‘We care about these women, and we care about this issue, and we want to do something … .’”
Angus noted that reaching one million steps is “a lofty goal” and joked that she barely hits 10,000 steps a day. Meanwhile, she said the men are “incredibly generous (and) incredibly ambitious,” so she expected them to raise around $40,000 as in past years.
The executive director recalled Iatridis asking for name suggestions for the event, so she offered six recommendations, and he settled on Step Up For Her, which “makes so much sense,” she continued.
“This is an incredible group of men, and just like with Men’s Night Out in the Cold, they are taking it upon themselves to say (that) violence against women and children is not OK,” Angus added. “They are leaders in our community, so the message they are getting out there is worth just as much as the money they’re raising for our valuable program.”
Helping the Transition House is important because it’s a service that’s valuable but one that people wish wasn’t needed, said Iatridis. He recalled a woman coming into The Mad Greek, giving him $10, and telling him it was for when he slept outside.
“So that was kind of a reminder to me to say, ‘We’ve got to do something for these women and children,’” he added.
The men plan to count the steps they take during the day on March 7, and starting at 10 p.m. and into the next day, they will walk at the Town ‘n’ Country Mall. Iatridis expected each man to take between 32,000 and 40,000 steps, which should help them reach their goal.
Besides personal fundraising efforts, the group will also have a table at the Moose Jaw Warriors’ game on March 7 to acquire donations.
Walking for hours might seem mentally tedious, but Iatridis expected the group to have many good conversations similar to Night Out in the Cold. However, instead of sitting, their discussions will happen while they’re mobile.
Anyone interested in donating to the Step Up For Her fundraiser can click here.
