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Mrs. Claus reads to children at the Read On Express. Photo by Aimee Staten

Read On Express hosts more than 1,400 parents, kids & volunteers

More than 800 children experienced the magic of Christmas and received a free book during the Read On Christmas Express on Dec. 10. The annual event was held at the Train Depot on Broad Street in Globe. The weather was mild as parents and children stood in line to see Santa, were read a Christmas story, made faces at the Grinch, who was kept safely behind glass, and rode the Express. 

“I want to thank you for the wonderful job that everyone did for the 2016 Read-On Express!” Sharon Listiak, coordinator for the event, wrote to the numerous volunteering agencies. “The numbers clearly speak for themselves.”

According to the sign-in sheets, the event attracted: 813 children+596 parents=1,409 total

Of those who attended, 70 were returning families and 325 were new families. People attended from 31 Arizona communities, and there was even a family from Hawaii.

There were more than 80 volunteers (set-up and take down workers, ROTC, elves, Santa, vendors, conductors, servers, hot chocolate makers, book reader’s and even the Grinch) by the time the event was over.  “If you add the volunteers to the total, we had approximately 1,489 people at our event,” Listiak wrote.

Read On Christmas Express made enough money left to reserve the train again next year.

About Aimee Staten

Aimee Staten has worn several hats over the last few years, but she recently put on one of her more familiar caps after four years of working in nonprofits: That of a journalist. She has 14 years of experience in the news business as a reporter with eight of those years as the managing editor of the Eastern Arizona Courier.

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