In The News
NATSO Foundation launches educational initiative on human trafficking
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The NATSO Foundation Thursday premiered a new online learning initiative designed to strengthen the nation's truck stop and travel plaza industry by delivering comprehensive educational and safety training materials to truck stop owners, operators and employees.
With an initial focus on "How Truck Stops Help People," the NATSO Foundation's first online training suite will offer four e-learning courses designed to help teach members of the truck stop and travel plaza industry how to respond to requests for help from people in need of assistance in various life-threatening scenarios.
"We are excited to deliver online education to the nation's truck stop and travel plaza community," said NATSO Foundation President and CEO Lisa Mullings. "Through the NATSO Foundation's online training tools, truck stops nationwide now will have a new avenue for strengthening their knowledge base and supplementing their own employee training. Equipping truck stops and their staff with accessible online education will play a key role in helping truck stops improve and grow for the future, ensuring the vitality of the truck stop industry as a whole."
The first module titled "The Role of Truck Stops in Combating Human Trafficking" launched Thursday in support of National Human Trafficking Awareness month. The course is available on the NATSO Foundation's new learning management system free of charge so that any member of the truck stop and travel plaza industry can leverage these educational resources. The course can be accessed at www.natso.com/onlinelearning.
"Truck stop owners, operators and employees often find themselves in a position to help people with more than just their basic needs of food, fuel and rest," said NATSO Foundation Chairman Jenny Love Meyer. "We're taking meaningful action to ensure that the truck stop industry is prepared to respond. The truck stop and travel plaza industry takes seriously the fight against human trafficking, and our goal is to provide our members with the tools they need to train their staff so that those individuals are equipped to help if they encounter a victim of this horrible crime."
A second module titled "How Truck sSops Help the Homeless" will be available in coming weeks. Additional courses planned for the "How Truckstops Help People" series will focus on what to do for drivers who are suffering distress and how to respond during a natural disaster.
While the NATSO Foundation's online education courses are available to anyone in the nation's truck stop and travel plaza community, a user ID and password to NATSO's website is required.
Users unsure of their NATSO website log-in or in need of an account can contact NATSO's Manager of Travel Plaza Member Services Kimberly Roberts at (703) 739-8573 or [email protected].
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