WASHINGTON — Many trucking companies and organizations associated with the trucking industry gave back to their communities in a big way this Christmas season.
Trucking Moves America Forward (TMAF) has compiled a list of some of those good deeds.
“Over the past year, our industry and nation have all faced extraordinary challenges as we recover from economic hardships from the global pandemic and work around the clock to prevent supply chain disruptions,” said Kevin Burch, co-chairman of TMAF and vice president of government affairs and sales at MTS.
“Despite these challenges, our front-line workers in the trucking industry have shown consistency and resilience by keeping a steady hand on the wheel to keep our nation moving forward,” he continued. “We are proud to help our communities stay healthy and safe by ensuring the delivery of food, medicine, and other essential supplies.”
Following is a list of trucking companies and organizations that gave back to their communities during the 2021 holiday season.
Advantage Truck Group (ATG) in Central Massachusetts participated in its 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 fresh meals to families in need.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) continued its annual participation in the Wreaths Across America convoy from Maine to Arlington National Cemetery, along with many ATA members. ATA continues to donate goods and transportation to disaster relief. 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. The LEAD ATA Class built and donated bikes for the local Boys and Girls Club of San Antonio during its 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 tree to haul to the Church of St. Joseph. Upon arrival, the tree was placed for all to see and then decorated with lights. Brenny Transportation’s team also raised over $8,000 to donate to families in need this holiday season.
In 2021, C.H. Robinson, a multimodal transportation services and third-party logistics provider in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, launched a thank-you campaign and sweepstakes designed show the nation’s appreciation for the 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. As part of the campaign, the company gave away $100,000 in cash sweepstakes to truck drivers and carriers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 12-18). The company also supported families, organizations and causes through grants and scholarship programs, and the C.H. Robinson Foundation donated $100,000 over two years to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund.
Estes Express Lines, based in Richmond, Virginia, participated in the “Bikes for Kids” bike drive by delivering 415 bikes from New Jersey to River City 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. in Findlay, Ohio, provided food transportation for a local food drive, collected and donated coats for a local drive, sponsored a local child, and collected holiday gifts for a local family. The company also participated in Wreaths Across America, donating over 1,000 wreaths to honor the fallen veterans. Other contributions include providing 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, headquartered 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 when 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 a local facility that fosters and counsels youth in the area in July. The donations came from 75 employees from both companies, who took the donations directly to the center.
Landstar System Inc. employees donated gifts to benefit children at the Child Guidance Center’s Angel Tree program in Jacksonville, Florida. Landstar’s Rockford-based employees supported the Winnebago/Boone Foster Care Alliance, a collaboration of child welfare agencies in the Winnebago and Boone counties in Illinois. Landstar employees also 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 in 2021. The company hosts over 80 Toys for Tots toy drives annually at the corporate office and across the company’s vast network of service centers. They also donated over 200,000 canned foods to the salvation army. In addition, Old Dominion partnered with the Salvation Army to hold a food drive, where they donated over 4,000 canned food items.
Pilot Co., based in Knoxville, Tennessee, raised a record-breaking $1.75 million from a three-week in-store round-up campaign to benefit the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit organization committed to placing veterans into high-quality jobs after their service. This amount triples the original 2021 goal of $500,000 and will assist 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. The TMAF-branded car promoted the importance of trucking and raised awareness on how the trucking industry continues to keep the country moving forward.
The Rhode Island Trucking Association hosted its Annual Torch Run Truck Convoy for Special Olympics. In 2021, association members raised over $8,000. All the money was donated to the Rhode Island Special Olympics athletes.
From Central Texas, SH 130 Concession Co. partnered with the Caldwell County Sheriff Department’s Brown Santa program to 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 health care workers and hospitals in the region.
Smith Trucking, located in Worthington, Minnesota, participated once again in a donation drive for families in need in its 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 metro region of the state. Both golf outings raise money for local nonprofits. This year, the Western Region Golf Outing raised over $3,000 for a Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that provides beds for children. The metro region raised over $14,000 for Tunnel 2 Towers.
Truckers Christmas Group, a nonprofit organization based 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. A major part of the campaign was the Winter Virtual Concert. The donations of goods and funds help ensure that every truck driver in need can support their family during the holiday season. Other charitable contributions included donating grants of $650 each to 35 different families, raffling off two pairs of boots valued at over $1,000, and partnering with RoadPro to donate a selection of goods valued at over $500.
System Transport, based in Cheney, Washington, which is 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.
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.
