The CP Holiday Train rolled into Ashcroft on December 15, to the delight of a crowd of nearly 500 people, some of whom were probably tempted outdoors by the relatively mild weather (compared with past Holiday Train visits) to see the event.
Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Band kept the crowd entertained with an energetic set, and a cheque in the amount of $5,500 was presented by a CP representative — who praised local firefighters for their efforts this past summer — to the South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Society (SCEFS) food bank. Volunteers were also kept busy accepting donations of food and funds from those in attendance.
Fraser-Nicola MLA said that it was great to see everyone there. “It’s great for us all to be together. It’s the season of giving, and we’ve been through tough times. Thank you to all of you.”
Ashcroft mayor Jack Jeyes said “It’s great to see all of you here to support this. CP has been beside Ashcroft for the whole year.”
“This is coming at an awesome time,” said SCEFS executive director Yoriko Susanj. “We had a tough summer. On a normal food bank day [once every two weeks] we see between 55 and 65 households, but over the course of six weeks we saw 914 households and 1,622 people. Your support is awesome. It took a bit, but we’re finding our footing again.”
Susanj says that 1,250 pounds of food and cash donations of more than $2,200 were received at the event.
This year marks the 19th annual CP Holiday Train. During that time, the event has raised more than $13 million dollars and more than four million tonnes of food for food banks across Canada and the northeastern United States.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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