Truckers for Troops returns in November

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is preparing for its 15th annual Truckers for Troops campaign.

Started in 2007, the annual fundraiser allows truck drivers to show appreciation for all of the sacrifices that members of the military make.

Occurring each year during the week of Veterans Day, the 2021 Truckers for Troops campaign will begin Monday, Nov. 8, and run through the start of business on Monday, Nov. 15.

As usual, truckers can join OOIDA for a discounted rate of $35, with 10% of that going into the fund and OOIDA matching that money. Truckers also can make direct donations into the fund.

To date, the effort has generated $697,196.47.

15 years in the making

Truckers for Troops started in 2007 – during Operation Iraqi Freedom – as a way to send care packages to our country’s troops overseas and veterans’ facilities in the United States.

Truckers for Troops started using funds in 2020 to help the Veterans Community Project in addition to sending care packages.

The program helps provide housing for homeless veterans through a community of “tiny houses.”

The Veterans Community Project’s locations also include a community center that provides comprehensive services to veterans, such as “navigating the VA and their benefits, identification services, mental and physical health referrals, financial counseling, and employment supports among other services. In addition, veterans can receive hygiene kits and utilize a food pantry. All services are free of charge.”

In December 2020, OOIDA presented the program with a check for $24,520.

“People have really stepped up and responded in Kansas City and gotten behind us,” Chris Admire, executive director of the Veterans Community Project, said at the presentation. “In tough times, you never know how companies, organizations and the community are going to respond. It’s usually really tough on nonprofits, but it’s actually been quite the opposite. We anticipated several months ago that there was going to be a growing need, and this is going to go a long way in helping with preventing veteran homelessness or helping to find veterans a permanent housing solution.”

To participate in Truckers for Troops, just call OOIDA’s main number, 816-229-5791. During business hours, let operators know you’re calling about Truckers for Troops, and they will transfer you to membership. Phones will be answered live, and the switchboards will stay open later than usual, so you can call until 7:30 p.m. Central.

Individual tax-deductible contributions to the Truckers for Troops fund also are welcome and can be paid to the OOIDA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. LL