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Worthwhile cause

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Volunteer staff worked a charity train ‘The Worth Valley Wanderer’ and raised over £37,000 for the Samaritans and Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity in Sheffield.

Volunteers from Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity travelled on the train, which ran from St Pancras to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway on Saturday 3 November. A raffle carried out on the train helped raise an additional £960.

The special train was arranged by East Midlands Trains and the money raised split between the two charities. Ticket sales, a special commemorative brochure and a real ale bar provided by local breweries all helped to contribute to the huge amount raised for the two charities.

East Midlands Trains staff supported the event by donating their day’s wages, or working on their day off, to help raise the maximum amount of money.

Says Sarah Cross, fund raiser at Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, ‘We are delighted to be one of the benefiting charities from the Worth Valley Wanderer train journey. We would like to thank everybody who helped raise such a fantastic amount, both the passengers and the staff of East Midlands Trains.’

The Samaritans raised a further £2,800 through a silent auction giving bidders the opportunity to win a footplate ride and a special headboard which was displayed on the front of the Worth Valley Wanderer train.

Says Catherine Johnstone, Chief Executive at Samaritans, I would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to East Midlands Trains and their staff for giving up their time to run the special service and for raising such a fantastic sum of money. The day is testament to the strong relationships Samaritans has built with the rail industry, and East Midlands Trains, and their staff, in particular, over the past two years since we embarked on our partnership with Network Rail, to help tackle suicides on the railway.’

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