The numbers are in for the 2016 CP Holiday Train, with an estimated 310,000 people attending one of the 150 Holiday Train events across the six Canadian provinces and 11 American states where the company operates.
More than $1.2 million and 250,000 pounds of food for local food banks was raised, with the food bank operated in Ashcroft by the South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Society (SCEFS) receiving a cheque for $5,500.
In addition to the CP cash donation, SCEFS executive director Yoriko Susanj says that cash donations from the community totalling $1,192.15 were also received. “That’s the largest amount we’ve had since I started here in 2013,” she says. The money was collected when the Holiday Train pulled into Ashcroft on December 15. “And people came to the office, saying ‘I can’t be at the Holiday Train, this is for the food bank.’”
Even more remarkable is the amount of food that was donated to the food bank. Susanj says that in 2015 some 661 pounds of food were received, but this year SCEFS received 1.25 tons—2,500 pounds—of food.
“Ryan Laker’s community challenge had a big part to do with that,” says Susanj. Laker, a former manager of the Ashcroft tie plant who now works for Stella-Jones—which manufactures pressed treated wood products—and also has his own business (Ashcroft Wood Products), says that when he was at the tie plant he challenged staff to donate to the food bank.
“I’m still in the industry, and was really impressed with the food bank and all the great stuff that [SCEFS] do. We were in a position to help out, and thought ‘Why not?’ It was a continuation of what I did at the tie plant. And I like to keep it in the community rather than donate to some faceless charity in Toronto.”
Before Christmas, Laker put out a challenge: he and his family would match donations of food items up to a total of 1,000 items. “Stella-Jones agreed immediately, and North American Rail Products heard I was doing it and they came to me.” The former company donated 1,000 items and the latter 550; Laker and his family donated 1,000 items, and community members also stepped up and donated.
Laker’s vision also benefited people far from this area. “I was at a railway trade show in Toronto, and someone from a Calgary law firm came to our table. I mentioned [the challenge] to them, and they didn’t hesitate; but they wanted to keep it in Calgary.” The firm donated goods to a Calgary food bank.
“I know that there are lots of people in town who find the food bank necessary,” says Laker. “And one big challenge can make a difference in a small community.”
Susanj agrees. “The food donations we get at Christmas usually get us through to March or April, and that’s where the CP Holiday Train cash donations really come in handy, when our food stock goes down.
“This year will be different because we received so much food. It will be interesting to see how far it gets us. We’ve never had this much food before.”
Susanj adds that while up until now they have had regular donors every year at Christmas, this past year saw a demographic of people who have never donated before. “We had people in their mid-30s to 40s, and I’ve never seen donations from this age group until Ryan’s challenge came out.
“This one person had an influence on a generation.”
The CP Holiday Train, which started as a relatively low-key affair in 1999, has raised more than $13 million and four million pounds of food for local food banks. It has also changed significantly since the early years, when only a handful of cars were decorated, and performers had to step down out of the train and perform “on the ground” amidst the audience.
Today’s Holiday Trains are 1,000 feet in length, with 14 rail cars decorated with hundreds of thousands of LED lights. Performers can now take the stage in a modified boxcar that has been turned into a travelling stage which can be opened on either side, depending on the configuration of each stop.
Despite the biting cold when the 2016 Holiday Train pulled into Ashcroft, several hundred people were there to welcome it and listen to the music of singer Dallas Smith and the group Odds. Santa Claus also made a special appearance, to the delight of the younger audience members.
“With the need for food banks continually increasing in both Canada and the U.S., the importance of the CP Holiday Train program in the community is also increasing,” says E. Hunter Harrison, CP’s CEO. “Beyond food and monetary donations, the CP Holiday Train generates goodwill, raises spirits, and helps people start the holidays off on the right foot. We thank the communities across our network for supporting the program and giving back to their neighbours.”