The 12th annual run of the CPR's Holiday Train has concluded with another fund-raising milestone being set.
The CP Holiday Train's Canadian run, rolled to a finale performance in Port Moody, B.C. on Dec. 17 while the American-based unit that had rolled across the eastern and Midwestern United States, came to a halt with three Canadian stops in North Portal, Estevan and Weyburn that same day, thus completing their schedule as well.
CP announced the day after that the Holiday Train had surpassed the $5 million mark in total money raised for food banks since the program was launched.
With last-minute donations still coming in, the preliminary cash totals from the three-week journeys across Canada and the U.S. stand at more than $700,000 this year, thanks in large part to the crowds and supportive communities along the route.
When that amount was combined with the $80,000 raised from sales of the CD Holiday Train Tracks at events, the monetary total now stands at $5.6 million since 1999.
"All of us with the CP Holiday Train are proud of how we have been able to act as a catalyst for thousands of Canadians and Americans to so strongly help their neighbours who may need support through a food bank," said CP president and CEO Fred Green. "Whether it is Scanton, Cartier, Milwaukee, Pingree Grove, Swift Current, Red Deer or Port Moody, each year the Holiday Train's goal of feeding our communities grows stronger."
In addition to cash, preliminary totals for the amount of food collected comes in at 150,000 pounds which places the 12-year total at 2.45 million pounds.
Starting in late November, two brightly decorated freight trains, each decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights and a special box car transformed into a stage, travelled to more than 140 communities in six Canadian provinces and eight states in the U.S. to help raise money and food for local food shelves. Everything that was raised in each community remained in that community for local distribution.
The Odds were the musical group entertaining the citizens who made their way to the rail sidings in Canada while Melanie Doane and her band headlined the United States tour which also made its way into Estevan early Friday evening.
About 150 to 200 local citizens braved very cold temperatures and some significant snow packs to enjoy Santa doing a CPR shuffle while Doane and her group played the music, sang the songs, and delivered the message of holiday good will.
Major Len Millar of the Estevan Salvation Army, the organization that operates the local food bank, said the two stops in North Portal and Estevan netted the local bank $1,000 in the form of a CP donation from the North Portal Stop and a further $2,000 for the food bank in Estevan.
"It went extremely well, there were more people out this year than last year in spite of the cold. A bunch of students from the Lignite (North Dakota) school came to see the train and entertainment in North Portal (around noon) and in total we picked up another 745 pounds of food from the citizens plus a further $452.75 in cash donations from the public at the two stops," Millar said.
As far as the local Christmas Kettle fund-raising program goes (including a mail-out campaign), Millar said he hadn't been able to do a concise tabulation but he figured they were close to about 90 per of their overall target of $63,000.
CP noted that the Holiday Train Tracks CD is still available for purchase on iTunes with all proceeds going to support food banks.
