BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Trucker Buddy International has received a gift from Pilot Flying J to support its mission to educate students around the nation on the value of the trucking industry. The donation was awarded as part of Pilot Flying J’s $2 million commitment to giving back in celebration of its 60th anniversary this month.
“Pilot Flying J has long been a valued supporter of the Trucker Buddy mission, but this year’s gift goes above and beyond,” said Alan Welborn, executive director of Trucker Buddy International, who called the gift “impactful.”.
Trucker Buddy International pairs over the road truck drivers with elementary school classrooms as pen pals. These pen pal relationships allow the driver, through communication directly with the elementary school teachers, to educate the students about the importance of the trucking industry. The teacher is able to use various details about the driver’s travels to teach math, history, reading, and writing.
The gift from Pilot Flying J will allow Trucker Buddy to further its mission and pair more drivers with classrooms than ever.
“A spirit of community and philanthropy was instilled in our company’s culture from the beginning,” said Meg Counts, community relations and events manager of Pilot Flying J. “To celebrate and thank our guests and team members for 60 years in business, we wanted to give back to the communities and people we serve. We are proud to partner with Trucker Buddy International in support of their mission and programs to help our communities thrive. Together, we are truly able to fuel life’s journeys.”
Pilot Flying J’s giving is focused on fueling those who serve by supporting military heroes and their families, and helping communities across the country improve the quality of life for people at home and on the road,” Counts said.
To learn more about Pilot Flying J’s 60th anniversary giving, visit www.pilotflyingj.com/giving-back.
Trucker Buddy International is an independent, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, often called the No. 1 trucking image campaign in North America.
It has helped educate schoolchildren and introduce educators to the trucking industry. This gives them the world through the eyes of a professional truck driver.
The Trucker Buddy program helps to educate and mentor schoolchildren via a pen pal relationship between professional truck drivers and children in grades K-8 as supervised by their teachers.
After an extensive screening process, the professional truck drivers are matched with a class and as directed by the teacher, drivers share news about their travels with their class. Students write letters and send pictures to their drivers. Students’ skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies, and history are enhanced and learning is made fun.
Since 1992, Trucker Buddy International has helped educate over a million schoolchildren and introduced them to caring, compassionate men and women, professional truck drivers. The on-going success of the program is due to driver volunteers, participating teachers and the contributions of sponsors. There is no cost to the drivers or teachers to participate in the program. The Trucker Buddy program is funded entirely by sponsorships and donations.
To learn more about Trucker Buddy International visit www.truckerbuddy.org.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
