/Minden Pride group approaches Rainbow Railroad goal
The crowd from the 2016 Pride Picnic in Minden line the Loggers Crossing bridge over the Gull River. /FILE photo

Minden Pride group approaches Rainbow Railroad goal

Minden Pride’s Rainbow Railroad team is thrilled to announce they are very close to achieving the goal of raising $10,000 to help an LGBTQ2+ person in danger in Afghanistan. At press time, $9,740 – or just over 97 per cent of the goal – had been raised to move someone from imminent danger to safety. 

“Out of all active teams fundraising for Rainbow Railroad across North America, our Minden Pride Team is the largest supporter,” said Allan Guinan, chair of Minden Pride. “It is an amazing accomplishment; in less than two months our small local community has dug deep and reached this incredible milestone. It demonstrates how committed the people of the Haliburton Highlands are to helping those discriminated against for being who they are.”

“Rainbow Railroad is pulling out all the stops to support people on the ground in Afghanistan and working to get them to safety” said Dane Bland, director of philanthropy for Rainbow Railroad. “On top of this, we continue to respond to hundreds of requests for help from around the world. This money raised by Minden Pride will go directly to support this mission, and our crisis response work. We are grateful!”

Rainbow Railroad is a global not-for-profit organization helping LGBTQI2+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, who are vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. This year alone, they have helped bring over 150 people to safety worldwide. Rainbow Railroad is a registered Canadian charity. For more information visit rainbowrailroad.org, or donate at http://donate.rainbowrailroad.org/team/374209

Minden Pride is a volunteer-driven, non-profit Haliburton County committee operating as part of Haliburton County Community Cooperative Inc. and is comprised of residents and local business owners.

– Staff