Trucking charities gear up for holiday season

As is the case every year, several trucking charities are focused on helping others during the holiday season.

Over the next month or so, these organizations will be seeking volunteers and donations to make the holiday season a little better for those in need.

Truckers Christmas Group

Launched in 2008, the charity supports CDL holders and their families during the holiday season.

Truckers Christmas Group aims to help truckers who have recently lost their job or have been coping with an illness or catastrophic event.

“What we really set out to do is to make Christmas a happier time for trucking families in need,” Greg Manchester, a co-founder of Truckers Christmas Group, told Land Line Now. “A lot of drivers every year have a hard time putting gifts under the tree or a turkey on the table. So we’re just looking for those drivers who need a little bit of extra help to make Christmas a little more enjoyable for them and their families.”

In 2018, the organization delivered $8,000 to 16 families. Since the charity’s inception, it has raised more than $90,000 and helped 154 trucking families ease the financial burdens associated with the holiday season.

According to the group’s website, nominations for the 2019 holiday season will start on Nov. 21 and will be taken until Dec. 11. According to Truckers Christmas Group, the chosen families will be notified by Santa Claus on Dec. 16-17. For more information about the charity, go to TruckersChristmasGroup.org.

Sleigh Bells and Santa

Created in 2015, the Sleigh Bells and Santa program helps provide gifts to the children of deceased truck drivers.

The program was an addition to the Truckers Final Mile, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that helps return truck drivers to their families in the event of death. The Sleigh Bells and Santa campaign is open to any child age 18 or younger who lost a truck driver parent in the past year.

According to TruckersFinalMile.org, the charity provided 18 children gifts from $2,300 in general donations.

To nominate a child, send a detailed email with verifying information to sleighbells@truckersfinalmile.org no later than Dec. 20. Gifts can be donated to Truckers Final Mile; 3301-R Coors Blvds NW 293; Albuquerque, NM 87120. The gifts should be shipped unwrapped, and the deadline is also Dec. 20.

Donations may also be made to the TruckersFinalMile.org website.

Truckersgive.org is the group’s mobile-friendly website.

“The intent of the program is to let them know that they are not forgotten,” said Robert Palm, the charity’s founder. “The trucking family is still by their side and is still thinking about them.”

Meals for 18 Wheels

The charity delivers meals to truckers in need all year long. However, Meals for 18 Wheels is especially active around the holidays.

Started the day before Thanksgiving in 2013, Meals for 18 Wheels attempts to provide drivers, who are working on Thanksgiving and Christmas, with holiday meals.

“During the holidays, every driver is encouraged to participate,” according to the Meals for 18 Wheels Facebook page.

Outside of the holidays, the charity works to connect truck drivers in need with volunteers across 48 states and Canada. Drivers are limited to three meals over a six-month period.

For more information about receiving a meal or volunteering, go to the organization’s Facebook page or email mf18wheels@gmail.com.