Over the past year, the number of posts and comments on equipment scrappings and museums facing funding shortfalls for maintenance have been enormous.

Right now, the preservation community has a national opportunity in Pepsi's Refresh Everything grant challenge to make a difference for one museum. Quite frankly, its showing all talk and no action. We can't even get enough votes to beat out a couple of animal shelters, some marching bands looking for new uniforms, and an individual looking for funds to start a bakery. Why should ANY foundation consider supporting an area of interest that shows so little public interest?

We have posted the opportunity on over a dozen railroad group sites and the apathy is very disheartening. With combined memberships of over 10,000 in those groups, the preservation community is larger than just about every group in the challenge.

Please, take two minutes a day and help us get a car restored and handicap access to the remainder of our collection.

Herb Sakalaucks
Colfax Railroad Museum

Herb

thank you for your posting.... Can you send me an email at sanmarinoltd@aol.com.... Perhaps I can offer you some support...


Dean

perhaps a link to the voting site on the page would be a good way to encourage folks. In addition a voting link on your website would be a good thing as well.

Make the process easier and more will act

http://www.refresheverything.com/1884mailcarexhibit

Here it is.

Thanks, Stationary Steam. You can actually vote with as many email/facebook accounts that you have. You can also vote via text message (so two or more times a day) by sending 103714 to 73774.

You can vote daily, and the money is going to a museum that will use every dollar as thrifty as possible.

Colfax Railroad Museum's Pepsi Refresh Project link

You're really doing quite well. I believe that in your case voting started November 1, so being at 258 out of 1000 in six days is pretty good. Of course its going to get harder to make the climb from this point onward. I voted twice for you today, and will do so again tomorrow, and again and again until the end of the month.

I tried several times to list our project to the Pepsi website. I literally sat there at the dot of midnight ready to hit the submit button and still didn't make it. Literally thousands of people are trying to list their project.

We were successful in making it to #26 in the first American Express Members Project two years ago. In that contest everyone only got one vote per round. Frankly getting people to vote every day will be really tough.

In the end I'm not sure if the work to get listed and then get people to vote is worth it. I think the number one project when we lost was for clean water in the Third World and second was cancer research. In the end it will be hard to get people to put you over the top against those kind of charities.

You have my vote. I would suggest getting the word out to as many people for as long as possible during the entire month. Try to get a story in your newspaper with the site, and put a link on the homepage of your website. Many will rally around a local cause, even if it does not directly effect them. Good Luck getting as many votes as possible.

Stephen Piwowarski
Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum