The year that's about to become history has been a busy and tumultuous one for the American trucking industry. Still, truckers and the companies they work for found time to help out those in need and pitch in when a good cause called..
Trucking Moves America Forward, the image-enhancement program of the American Trucking Association, compiled a list of the good works of carriers and their drivers. They included:
- Advantage Truck Group in Central Massachusetts participated in their annual charitable initiative - Haulin' 4 Hunger – to help families in need this holiday season. The program supplies families within the local communities of ATG dealerships with fresh meals. Since the beginning of the program, ATG has provided 23,000 meals to families in need.
- The American Trucking Associations continued its annual participation in the Wreaths Across America convoy from Maine to Arlington National Cemetery, along with many of ATA's members supporting WAA. ATA also continued to donate goods and transportation to disaster relief, and America's Road Team and Workforce Heroes programs partnered with Interstate Moving Relocation Logistics to deliver donations for Afghan refugees housed at different military bases across the country. ATA's LEAD ATA Class built and donated bikes for the local Boys and Girls Club of San Antonio, Texas during their Mid-Year Management Session. And, ATA awarded The Trucking Cares Foundation's Premier Achievement Award to professional driver, John Lex; this award is bestowed annually to an individual or company that exemplifies trucking's spirit of giving.
- Brenny Transportation, Inc. once again participated in the local WinterWalk that takes place every year in St. Joseph, Minnesota. This year, the company drove out to the local arboretum and loaded up a 50-foot-tall blue spruce to haul to the Church of St. Joseph. Brenny Transportation's team also raised over $8,000 to donate to families in need this holiday season.
- C.H. Robinson, a multimodal transportation services and third-party logistics provider in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, launched a "thank-you campaign, and sweepstakes" designed to show appreciation to truck drivers who never left the road and never stopped delivering, even during the most challenging of times. Two thousand thank you letters were submitted and, as part of the campaign. C.H. Robinson also supported families, organizations, and causes through grants and scholarship programs, and its foundation donated $100,000 over two years to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, which helps truck drivers in need.
- Estes Express Lines, based in Richmond, Virginia, participated in the "Bikes for Kids" bike drive. They delivered 415 bikes from New Jersey to River City, Virginia to be assembled by volunteers from the Richmond Area Bicycle Association, an organization that raised more than $35,000 to buy the bikes for kids in need this holiday season.
- From Augusta, Georgia, F&W Transportation, in partnership with E-Z-GO/Textron Specialized Vehicles, donated and delivered 1,200 cases of bottled water to Texas to benefit relief efforts following the devastation of Winter Storm Uri.
- Garner Trucking, Inc. from Findlay, Ohio, provided food transportation for a local food drive; collected and donated coats for a local drive; sponsored a local child and collected gifts to help make the holidays a little brighter for a local family; and participated in Wreaths Across America by donating over 1,000 wreaths to honor the fallen veterans. The company also provided transportation for food donations from the University of Findlay to Chopin Hall, a partnership with the City Mission of Findlay to help the homeless, the delivery of coats for those in need, and a partnership with Keeping Our Kids Safe – a local community organization that allows individuals to sponsor a child for the holidays.
- Keller Logistics in Defiance, Ohio, and its in-house philanthropy team raised over $48,000 for Operation K.A.V.I.C. (Keller Assists Veterans in Crisis), which helps local veterans if there are financial gaps in their veterans' benefits. The company hosted a free dinner in November for all local veterans and their families. Keller also supported Wreaths Across America by delivering wreaths to Ohio cemeteries and sponsored a series of events to encourage families to shop locally this holiday season.
- Kentucky Truck Sales, Inc. based in Jeffersonville Indiana, partnered with its sister company Century NationaLease to donate to Childplace Family Services, a local facility that fosters and counsels youth. The donations came from 75 employees from both companies who took the donations directly to the center.
- Landstar System Inc.'s employees donated gifts to benefit children in the Child Guidance Center's Angel Tree program in Jacksonville, Florida. Landstar's Rockford-based employees supported the Winnebago/Boone Foster Care Alliance, which is a collaboration of child welfare agencies in the Winnebago and Boone counties in Illinois. Landstar employees donated 50 $25 gift cards that can be used to purchase gifts or necessities at Walmart, Target, Visa, or Amazon.
- Old Dominion Freight Line based in Thomasville, North Carolina made a $100,000 donation to Toys for Tots. The company hosts over 80 Toys for Tots toy drives annually at the corporate office and across the company's network of service centers. The company also donated over 200,000 cans of food to the Salvation Army. Old Dominion also partners with the Salvation Army to hold a food drive where they donated over 4,000 canned food items.
- Pilot Company, based in Knoxville, TN, raised a record-breaking $1.75 million from a three-week in-store round-up campaign that benefits the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit organization committed to placing veteran's into high-quality jobs after their service. This triples the original 2021 goal of $500,000 and aids more than 3,000 service members in their search for employment. Pilot also donated $30,000 to Wreaths Across America and gave a $150,000 donation to feature TMAF on the No.1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet at the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Michigan International Speedway in August.
- Rhode Island Trucking Association hosted its annual Torch Run Truck Convoy for Special Olympics. This year, they raised over $8,000. All the money was donated to the Rhode Island Special Olympics athletes.
- From Central Texas, SH 130 Concession Company partnered with the Caldwell County Sheriff Department's Brown Santa program this year and donated 150 toys, games, and books for local families in need. The company also donated $5,000 to the Guadalupe Regional Medical Foundation which supports healthcare workers and hospitals in the region.
- Smith Trucking, located in Worthington, Minnesota, participated once again in a donation drive that aids families in need in their local community this holiday season. This year, the donations amounted to $2,850.
- Each year the Trucking Association of New York holds two golf outings, one in the western region of the state and one in the New York City metro area. Both events raise money for local non-profit organizations. This year, the western outing raised over $3,000 for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which provides beds for children while the metro region raised over $14,000 for Tunnel 2 Towers.
- Truckers Christmas Group, a non-profit organization in Wichita, Kansas that raises funds to help professional CDL drivers and their families in the U.S. and Canada, hosted its 14th annual holiday fundraising campaign. Donations aid truck driver families in need during the holiday season. The group made grants of $650 to 35 different families.
- System Transport, based in Cheney, Washington, and a member of the Truckload Carriers Association, was selected to drive the truck that delivered the 2021 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from Six Rivers National Forest in California to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.Additionally, TCA and its member companies were instrumental in the delivery of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's The Wall That Heals mobile education center and Wreaths Across America remembrance wreaths.
