In The News

8th annual Truckers for Troops® jump-started with Shell Rotella donation

Grain Valley, Mo. – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is getting ready to launch the eighth Truckers for Troops® care package campaign, scheduled for the week of Nov. 10-16, 2014.
 
The fundraising effort is an OOIDA tradition since 2007 and has a head start with a generous donation of $5,000 from Shell Rotella. Truckers for Troops raises money to pack and send care packages to service personnel stationed in combat zones.
 
The Association is currently seeking addresses for sending packages and accepting personal cards or letters to include inside the packages.
 
“Each year we receive handmade cards or letters from a variety of groups and individuals,” said Norita Taylor, Media Spokesperson for OOIDA. “They add that personal touch to the packages.”
 
During Truckers for Troops week, a broadcast is planned for each day on OOIDA’s “Land Line Now” satellite radio show on Sirius XM 146. During that week, truckers can join OOIDA or renew their membership for $35, with 10 percent of that money going toward care packages for U.S. troops stationed in combat areas overseas. OOIDA matches the 10 percent dollar for dollar. Only memberships during the campaign dates will go toward the Truckers for Troops fund. Individual tax-deductible contributions to the Truckers for Troops fund are also welcome and can be paid to the OOIDA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Over the past seven years, the Truckers for Troops effort has raised more than $406,000, allowing the Association to send more than 2,500 care packages to nearly 30,000 military personnel. The care packages have been known to weigh as much as 70 pounds each and contain everything from necessities such as socks to fun stuff like Silly String.
 
PACKAGE ADDRESSES
Anyone who has a family member or friend serving in a war zone with the U.S. military, and who would like for them to get a care package, can send the name and complete address to [email protected]. Packages will likely go out after the holidays in January or February.

CARDS AND LETTERS
Attention: Truckers for Troops, P.O. Box 1000, Grain Valley, MO 64029. Towns or school names can be included, but please do not include last names or other personal information. No particular theme and not necessarily Christmas.
 
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the only national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 150,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the Greater Kansas City, Mo., area.