TravelCenters of America Customers and Employees Donate a Record-Breaking $286,877 to the St. Christopher Fund
Knoxville, TN (PRWEB) October 29, 2013 -- TravelCenters of America LLC (TravelCenters), operator of the TA® and Petro Stopping Centers® travel center brands, has turned over $286,877.99 in donations to the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF). This is the largest single donation amount the SCF has received to date, and takes the total donations that TravelCenters has helped to raise for the Fund to nearly $1.1 million.
The donation monies were generously given by TA and Petro customers and employees during TravelCenters’ fourth annual “Band Together for SCF” campaign, as well as during recent professional driver events, including the TA Walcott Truckers Jamboree, the Great American Trucking Show, and the OOIDA Heart of America Trucking Show.
SCF is a non-profit organization that benefits truck drivers suffering from financial hardship due to medical problems. The 2013 “Band Together for SCF” campaign ran from August 22 – October 6 at all TA and Petro locations. Drivers were asked to donate $1 to help their fellow drivers in need and in turn received a commemorative wristband.
“It’s completely amazing to know that our customers and employees have pulled together to donate more than $1 million since November, 2010, when we began the Band Together campaigns to help professional drivers,” said Tom O’Brien, President and CEO of TravelCenters. “This level of generosity can’t be found just anywhere,” he continued. “Professional drivers and those in the trucking industry are some of the most generous people around.”
TravelCenters began holding annual fundraisers for the SCF in 2010. Each year, the campaign donations increase, and one hundred percent of all donations collected go to the organization. The 2013 campaign donation is the largest single donation SCF has received. In addition to holding fundraisers for SCF, TravelCenters has also nominated the charity for BP’s Fueling Communities Grant in each of the last three years, resulting in BP awarding a total of $90,000 in grant money to the charity.
“I have such great gratitude to all of the TA and Petro customers and employees who have made this possible,” said Dr. Donna Kennedy, Executive Director of the SCF. “To date, we have helped more than 800 professional drivers with financial assistance with utility bills, mortgage payments and other monthly bills. In fact, we have paid out more than $40,000 in the last two months. Drivers are becoming more aware of the SCF, which is wonderful. But, it’s even more wonderful to have these generous donations that make it possible to help those in need,” she added.
Dr. Kennedy and Tom Liutkus, Vice President of Marketing for TravelCenters, will talk about the SCF and the Band Together campaign on Dave Nemo’s show on the RoadDog Trucking channel, SiriusXM 128 on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, at 10 a.m. ET. Dave Nemo is one of the founders of SCF.
About TravelCenters of America LLC
TravelCenters of America LLC (TravelCenters), headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, is a leading travel center business in 42 states and Canada operating under the TA® and Petro Stopping Centers® brands. With 247 convenient full-service locations off interstate highway exits, TA and Petro Stopping Centers offer customers diesel and gasoline fueling services, more than 500 full- and quick-service restaurants, 24-hour convenience stores, heavy truck maintenance services, RoadSquad Connect™ (24/7/365 emergency roadside service), Reserve-It™ (truck parking reservations), and many other services – all within large, high traffic facilities. For more information on TravelCenters and TA, please visit http://www.tatravelcenters.com. For more information on Petro Stopping Centers, please visit http://www.petrotruckstops.com.
About St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund
The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF) is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization that provides assistance to professional truck drivers whose medical problems have led to financial difficulty. SCF also promotes educational and wellness programs that benefit professional drivers and the trucking industry. For more information, please visit http://www.truckersfund.org.
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Donna Kennedy, St. Christopher Fund, http://www.truckersfund.org, 865-202-9428, [email protected]
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