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Goderich Signal Star, 2017-03-08, Page 44 Signal Star • Wednesday, March 8, 2017 Juno -nominated Maria Dunn performs benefit concert for the Huron Out of the Cold Project This past Saturday night, two-time Juno nominee Maria Dunn took the stage at Lakeshore United Church to help raise funds for the Huron County Out of the Cold Project Sheila Pritchard Freelancer Juno -award nominee Maria Dunn performed an inspirational fundraising concert at Goderich's Lake- shore United Church on Sat- urday night supporting the Huron Out of the Cold Pro- ject, a new program that helps bring the county's homeless men out of the cold. The Huron Out of the Cold Project (HOCP) is a collabo- rative effort between local churches and the Huron County Social and Property Services. As of January 20, services have been offered each night from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. providing emergency shelter, warmth, and food for men aged 18 and older. Saturday's by -donation, benefit show, which gave the wider Huron County com- munity an opportunity to support HOCP as well as enjoy the music of a renowned Canadian musi- cian, raised funds and awareness about the need for emergency shelter for men in the area. Huron Women's Shelter houses women and children in Goderich, but until the Out of the Cold initiative, there has been no shelter for men. "The HOCP conversation started about a year ago when the county approached the Goderich Ministerial to see if we would be interested in working with them to provide shelter for men in the county because there was none available," said Lakeshore United Church Reverend Kate Ballagh-Steeper. "So the conversation continued for several months and all the stars eventually aligned and we decided to give it a try this year." Dunn, who lived in Sarnia as a child, has visited Goderich before and most recently performed a fund- raiser for the Huron Wom- en's Shelter in 2013, has received critical acclaim for her music over the years, both at home and abroad. The singer -songwriter, now living in Edmonton, writes great historical and social commentary and her music blends Celtic folk with North American bluegrass and country influences. Dunn's most recent CD Gathering highlights stories of love. But instead of focus- ing on romantic love, Dunn's songs explore family, com- munity, humanity and the love that connects us and motivates our actions to make the world a better place, she said. Nominated in the Traditional Roots Album of the Year category for her sixth independent recording, this is Dunn's sec- ond nomination for a Juno award. Songs on Gathering range in powerful motifs and mes- sages, including an ode to the Rocky Mountains, an old-time ballad inspired by Alberta Indigenous leader Dorothy McDonald -Hyde, a glimpse into the life of migrant workers, and the celebration of women across the globe. A passion for positive social change is repre- sented in Dunn's music and is mirrored in the Huron Out of the Cold Pro- ject. It is thanks to Huron County Social and Property Services Department, Goderich Ministerial Asso- ciation and the project's many generous volunteers and donators, that this vision has been realized. "One of the questions we had when we had this con- versation was would there be the need and would we be able to attract enough volunteers—is the project Stieib Pritchard Reverend Kate Ballagh-Steeper of Lakeshore United Church speaks about the Huron Out of the Cold Project and the importance of emergency shelter for Huron County men in need. viable?" said Ballagh- Steeper. "We're still waiting to answer the question about the need but we have answered the question of volunteers. I.am delighted to say that we have over 40 people that volunteered their time to either staff the warming centre, which wel- comes visitors at First Bap- tist Church, and also a number of volunteers that give up their nights and stay awake all night to be with our guests [at Lake- shore United Church]." To date, Lakeshore United Church has served some cli- ents, but the project is not yet widely known. It will run until March 31 when offi- cials will collect information with the hopes of making IIOCP a permanent pro- gram come next winter. "We will take away what we learned from this winter, look at our data and do some analysis," Ballagh- Steeper said. "Remember- ing that it's the people we have in mind, it's the people that we're here to serve and help; those who are most vulnerable in our society"