Chicago Transit Board Chairman Terry Peterson today rode the CTA’s Holiday Train to distribute food baskets to local community groups, continuing a 20-year agency tradition that supports Chicago communities.
With Santa and his elves in tow, Peterson made the deliveries to representatives of several community organizations at the 95th Street station on the Red Line.
Every year, CTA employees enthusiastically embrace the spirit of the holidays and donate time and money to purchase the groceries and assemble the food baskets. The number of community groups requesting food baskets increases every year. This year, the requests increased to nearly triple the number of requests from 2010. CTA has donated approximately 300 food baskets to 30 local community organizations.
“These donations represent the giving spirit of CTA employees,” Peterson said. “For 20 years, our workers have generously supported this effort as a way to give back to our communities.”
Each food basket contains all the ingredients for a complete meal including a canned ham, potatoes, mixed vegetables, muffin mix, macaroni and cheese, fruit cocktail, green beans and corn. The deliveries today mark the final of three days of deliveries during the holiday season.
Organizations receiving food baskets at 95th Red Line station today as part of the special delivery are GRANDFamilies, Golden Gate Center, Saint Ailbe Men's Ministry, SOS Children's Village and William Hilton Elementary School. Earlier in the day, baskets were delivered at Howard Red Line station to Care for Real, Jewish Child & Family Services, Epiphany, Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago and Lakeview High School.
“These organizations work very hard to help those in need, and I commend them, as well as the CTA workers who made these donations, for their generosity and commitment to helping others,” Peterson said.
Now in its 20th year, the CTA Holiday Train is decorated with thousands of multi-colored lights and features a flatcar in the middle that carries Santa and his reindeer. Car interiors are decked out with bows, garland, red and green lighting and hand poles wrapped to look like candy canes.
The Holiday Train serves each of the CTA’s eight rail lines from late November through December. A full schedule of remaining Holiday Train service is available at www.transitchicago.com.
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