Indiana-based Baylor Trucking is raising awareness for Angelman syndrome (AS), a rare neuro-genetic disorder, with a dedicated trailer wrap.
Cari Baylor, the fleet’s president, was inspired to raise awareness for AS and the Angelman syndrome Foundation after meeting Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Indiana) while she was in Washington, D.C. advocating for drivers. Rokita’s son suffers from AS and Baylor wanted to know what she could do to help him.
“Basically Todd Rokita said that with Angelman syndrome it’s a really rare disease so not a lot of people know about it. The biggest thing they need is just awareness,” said Hannah Gibson, corporate relations at Baylor Trucking.
The trailer will travel about 100,000 miles each year and should reach around one million miles in its lifetime. The fleet has plans to decal a dedicated tractor to go with the trailer so that it may appear at schools and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation’s annual fundraiser walks.
“They do walks all over the country. We wanted to be able to have like a showpiece at their walks for them,” Gibson said.
AS occurs in one of every 15,000 live births, according to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. It is commonly misdiagnosed as autism or cerebral palsy. It can cause development delays, lack of speech, seizures and walking and balance disorders. Those diagnosed with AS will require life-long care.