5.6 C
New York

CDLLife raised $33K to help drivers who are struggling — and our mission is just beginning

Published:

The CDLLife team just completed the first leg of a multi-state effort to feed as many of our nation’s hardworking truck drivers as we can — and we’re just getting started.

As part of our “Fueling Our Heroes” campaign, our team made 15 stops in 6 days at rest area and truck stop locations in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Missouri, handing out 2,500 healthy, free meals to drivers we met along the way.

So far, CDLLife has raised more than $33,000 from GoFundMe donations and from partnerships with sponsors Volvo Trucks North America and Cobra Electronics, all of which will go towards supporting the trucking community.

“A very emotional, very humbling experience”

While “Fueling Our Heroes” started as a solution for drivers who were struggling to find meals because of restaurant closures and grocery store restrictions during the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, CDLLife’s Sadie Church said that meeting and talking to drivers during the initial six day tour highlighted how desperately drivers need financial help right now.

“This really did start with restaurants being closed, now it’s just as important to help feed the drivers who are suffering because of slow freight and terrible freight rates,” Church said. “We are seeing so many struggling drivers. We personally spoke with 2 owner operators who are shutting down because of slow freight/terrible freight rates. We met a team who said that freight is so slow, they’re starving out. They said that they had planned to not eat for 3 days until we came along. It was a very emotional, very humbling experience.”

Ready for Round 2? Here’s where you can find us!

After a couple of days to regroup, Church along with Kansas City-based truck driver and social media personality Brittney Richardson are headed back out on the road to meet more drivers and deliver more meals. It won’t solve the problem of low rates and slow freight, but if it means that drivers can keep a little more money in their pockets, we know it is a worthwhile effort.

Check out the itinerary below so you can catch up with us, snap a photo, and get some free lunch or dinner!

Day 1: Friday, May 15

  • 7:00 a.m. – Leave Kansas City, KS 
  • 12:00-1:00 Wichita, KS (Tonkawa Truck Parking – Tonkawa, OK 74653)
  • 5:00 pm – 6:00 am Oklahoma City, OK (20569 Rest Area Rd, Thackerville, OK 73459)

Day 2: Saturday, May 16 

  • 7:00 a.m. – Leave Oklahoma City, OK 
  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Dallas, Texas  (I-20 east rest area Canton, TX 75103)
  • 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Shreveport, LA (Louisiana Welcome Center 9945 I-20, Greenwood, LA 71033)

Day 3: Sunday, May 17 

  • 6:00 a.m. – Leave Shreveport, LA 
  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Jackson, Mississippi (Tremont Rest Area I-20, Choudrant, LA 71227)
  • 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Birmingham, AL (Alabama State I-59 S 10708 US 59, Cottondale, AL 35453)

Day 4: Monday, May 18

  • 7:00 a.m. – Birmingham, AL 
  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Atlanta, GA (I-75 NB Rest Area Adairsville, GA 30103)
  • 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Chattanooga, TN (WB U.S. Hwy 24, Pelham, TN 37366)

Day 5: Tuesday, May 19 

  • 7:00 a.m. – Chattanooga, TN
  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Nashville, TN (Welcome Center I-24, Oak Grove, KY 42262)
  • 6:00 p.m. – Marion, IL  (Rend Lake Rest Area I-57, Whittington, IL 62897) 

Day 6: Wednesday, May 20 

  • 7:00 a.m. – Marion, IL 
  • 12:00 p.m. -1:00 p.m. Pontoon Beach, IL (Gateway Rest Area Mascoutah, IL 62258) 
  • 6:00 p.m. – Arrive back in Kansas City, KS

You are invited to ride along with us on the Fueling Our Heroes mission on by following us the CDLLife app, the CDLLife Facebook page, the CDLLife YouTube channel, CDLLife on Instagram, the Brittney in Pink Facebook page, and the American Truckers YouTube channel.

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Get the hottest daily trucking news

This Week in Trucking

Videos