Hundreds of Vermonters, including students from nearly 20 high schools and colleges, came to Burlington last weekend for the annual Committee On Temporary Shelter, or COTS, Walk.

The three-mile route follows the course a homeless person might take to get shelter and services.

Approximately 30 CVU teachers and students— many of them in the school’s Key Club, a community service group—walked on May 2.

“I am pretty happy with the how much interest the CVU community has shown toward this event,” CVU sophomore Claire Colwell, who organized the school’s team, wrote in an e-mail.

 “COTS serves people with whom we can all relate,” Colwell wrote. “In these hard times, everyone can connect to (the) COTS mission…. This walk is also a great way to spend time with friends and get involved in the community.”

CVU was one of nearly 20 high schools and colleges in the state with teams registered for the walk.

Rice Memorial High School had one of the largest turnouts. Between 130 and 140 Rice students participated this year.

Brigitte Gagne, a junior at Rice, came to the Walk for the third time with her sister, Alyssa, 22.

She said she joined the event to “raise awareness and help out the community.”

Jenny Michael and Erika Torres, both freshmen at Burlington High School, volunteered with the event, handing out granola bars to walkers.

“It seemed like a good thing to do,” Torres said. “It went really well, we had a lot of fun.”

The pair said they hope to volunteer next year, too.

COTS Board chairwoman Lesli Blount said COTS has seen an “all-time high demand for services” in the past year or so. The group had to open an overflow center, which Blount said is “already kind of bursting at the seams.”

COTS is close to its goal of raising $175,000. To donate online, go to www.firstgiving.com/fireflymag.

 

To see more photos of the walk, click here.