All are welcome

Simply put, Road Angel Truckers Center is here to make life a little easier for truck drivers and their families.

An admirable concept, but how exactly do you put that into practice?

Well, most reading this can attest to how difficult it is to find safe and accessible truck parking.

Road Angel Truckers Center offers enough space for 50 trucks to park free of charge in a lighted parking lot 24/7.

Also available around the clock at its 35-acre site off Interstate 70 Exit 68 in Brownstown, Ill., are showers, laundry facilities, snacks, coffee and a lounge with television, Wi-Fi and other amenities.

Last but not least, the center serves free meals daily to all its visiting truckers.

The mission of Road Angel Truckers Center extends well beyond those amenities, but having spent nearly three decades as a driver and then a dispatcher, Mark Hewett, the center’s director, understands the plight facing many in the industry.

“We want to make sure we give these services to these drivers,” Hewett said. “Because if you’ve ever been a driver, you’d understand you get kicked to the corner everywhere you go. You wait for two hours, and maybe they’ll unload you. And getting in line to get unloaded takes five hours. Then your dispatcher’s on the phone telling you to hurry up. They’re under a lot of pressure, and we try to be a pressure belt.”

The staff at Road Angel Truckers Center, who are all volunteers, want the drivers to leave better off than they arrive.

“It’s a place the drivers can call their own,” Hewett said. “We’re a ministry and trying to help people come closer to the Lord, but we don’t beat them over the head with it. They can relax and get refreshed. It’s like an oasis for them.”

He added that it’s all part of a mission to minister to the needs of truck drivers and their families.

“There’s no qualifications for our services. It’s mostly truck drivers, but any traveler that’s come along, we’ll help,” Hewett said. “We’ve had people break down. You never know what’s going to come through the door. We try our best to help everybody with something.”

The outreach extends beyond the center in Brownstown. The organization attends major truck shows such as the Mid-America Trucking Show and Walcott Truckers Jamboree, among others.

Road Angel Truckers Center, previously known as the Association of Christian Truckers Ministry, has even organized its own trucking event during the third week of September as an additional outreach to truck drivers.

“We have speakers, singers, vendors and have different trucks come in,” Hewett said. “It’s just a real good time, almost like a family reunion. It’s grown every year and (is) getting bigger.”

Hewett added that with the space available at Road Angel Truckers Center, the organization is open to ideas for utilizing that space to assist the needs of truckers.

“Without truckers, we have nothing,” Hewett said. “In a week or so, your grocery shelves would be empty if there’s no truckers. Trucking is such a vital cog in our economy. We have to do everything we can to help them get through and do the job. It takes a person with a lot of courage to do this job. There’s a lot of obstacles, and it’s a little more than just sitting there and holding a steering wheel.”

Hewett added that future expansion, including the addition of new locations, would be welcome if the financial wherewithal is there. Donations are a big part of what makes Road Angel Truckers Center sustainable, and a good portion of those donations come from the truckers utilizing its services.

“Like for everyone, food costs have gone up,” Hewett said. “What used to cost $800 per week now costs $1,500 per week. It takes money; there’s no doubt about that. We want to make sure we can still offer this service to the drivers.”

He also noted that he’s unaware of anywhere else in the U.S. like Road Angel Truckers Center.

“I drove for 15 years and never saw another one,” he said. “I’d like to put up five more.”

He added that there is a membership option to assist with fundraising, and word of mouth is also important in securing sponsorships from trucking companies.

“There’s a lot of ways to help out, but it’s also helping you,” he said. “Nobody gets a salary here. We’re not taking the money and wasting it on anything. Our real need is volunteers. You can help for a day, a week or passing through on your vacation.”

For more information about Road Angel Truckers Center or to get involved, go to RoadAngelTruckersCenter.com. LL