If you’re familiar with TA and Petro Stopping Centers, you’ve most likely heard of the St. Christopher Truckers Development & Relief Fund (SCF). Since 2010, TA and Petro has put on an annual fundraiser called Band Together for SCF. Band Together wristbands, keychains and window clings (new this year) are sold at TA and Petro locations each August and 100 percent of proceeds are donated to SCF.
Over the past eight years, TA and Petro’s Band Together program has raised over $2 million to help drivers in need. With what, you might wonder?
The SCF Mission
Studies show that more than 70 percent of the 3.5 million professional drivers in the U.S. have one or more serious health problems such as obesity, diabetes, sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease. Professional drivers also lack the same access to healthcare that most Americans have.
The St. Christopher Fund was created in 2007 with a mission to provide assistance to over-the-road and regional truck drivers when an illness or injury caused them to be out of work. Since helping their first applicant in 2008, SCF has provided more than $2 million for over 2,000 drivers in need.
This assistance covers direct payment for rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance, vehicles and some prescriptions/medical procedures. SCF also provides each applicant with hundreds of resources and additional information to help them during their time of need.
SCF’s second mission is to provide educational health and wellness programs for drivers. Long term, the goal of these efforts is to help prevent the causes of illness that lead drivers to need assistance in the first place. So far, SCF has led health challenges, sponsored a smoking cessation program and provided free vaccines for the flu, pneumonia and shingles.
Since 2015 they have provided nearly 650 vaccines for drivers, and they’ve helped over 40 drivers quit or cut back on nicotine. The SCF also has plans to add a diabetes prevention and management program to their growing list of educational health and wellness efforts.
Eligibility requirements to apply for SCF funding:
- Primary source of income must be from driving a semi-truck over-the-road or regionally
- Must hold a valid Class A CDL
- Must have a medical problem present
- Medical problem must’ve first occurred in the last year (from date of application)
- The medical problem has led to financial difficulty
If you’re a driver who needs assistance and meets the eligibility requirements above, apply online today at https://truckersfund.org/application/. If you’re someone who wants to help us help SCF make a difference, stop into a participating TA or Petro location between Aug. 15 and Sept. 30 and purchase a Band Together item to help a driver in need.