For the many of you who participated in our 22×22 fitness challenge last year I’m pleased to announce we are holding a second annual “I Take The Pledge” 22×22 push-up challenge to raise awareness of the prevalence of suicide among our nation’s military veterans.
Many of these veterans are professional drivers. There are currently 18.2 million military veterans in the United States, and one in 10 of them are professional truck drivers or bus. Military veterans have skills that directly relate to what it takes to become a successful driver — discipline, a sense of responsibility and a commitment to safety.
As we honor the men and women who have served our country, we also recognize that military service often comes with incredible mental health stressors. We hope this challenge will encourage veterans in need to reach out to a friend or a professional organization for support. And because we know many veterans are also professional drivers, we want to show our appreciation not only for their military service, but also for their vital role in the supply chain.
In an effort to raise awareness of those mental health challenges, we are making a commitment to raise awareness of — and hopefully prevent — veteran suicide by kicking off a push-up challenge in November.
Here’s what you need to do to help:
Do 22 push-ups each day for 22 days. Have a friend shoot a video of you doing 22 push-ups on one of those days.
Share that video by uploading it to TheTrucker.com.
Help spread awareness by posting the video to your social media with the hashtags #veteransuicideawareness and #fittopass.
Driver who post a video on The Trucker website will be added to our Wall of Honor.
We’ve all experienced very unusual times in the past year and a half, but for professional drivers it’s been especially difficult. But you have prevailed, and we thank you for your dedication and hard work.
If you or a friend need professional support call Espyr’s Talk Now service is available 24/7; call 888-570-3479.
Known as The Trucker Trainer, Bob Perry has played a critical role in the paradigm shift of regulatory agencies, private and public sector entities, and consumers to understand the driver health challenge. Perry can be reached at [email protected].
Bob Perry is a regular contributor to The Trucker. He has spent nearly the past four decades on a mission to educate professional drivers and share life-changing products and services to help them live healthier lives while on the road. Recognized throughout the transportation industry, from bus drivers to over-the-road professional drivers, Perry has played an important role in creating a paradigm shift helping regulatory agencies, private and public sector entities, and consumers understand the current health challenges of the professional driver. He has participated as a wellness advocate in several roundtable discussions, large audience groups and small forums as well as going “curbside” through a national truck stop tour.
Bob’s articles have been featured in The Trucker and a number of other national transportation industry publications and is the host of a weekly wellness call produced by Rolling Strong. Bob has been a regular guest on RedEye Radio and Land-Line Radio, and is often an invited guest on Sirius radio shows. He has been featured in the New York Times, Men’s Health Magazine, Drug Store News, American Road Magazine, WSJ, NPR, ABC National Radio, as well as hundreds of daily newspapers. He has appeared on television news shows across the nation, including a featured TV segment on ABC NightLine News.
