TravelCenters of America LLC, operator of the TA® and Petro Stopping Centers® travel center brands, has made another donation to the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund in the amount of $5,260. The donations to the non-profit organization that provides direct assistance to professional truck drivers whose medical problems have led to financial hardship came from the generosity of attendees at the TA and Petro booth at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), which took place in Louisville, Ky., last month. Employees of TravelCenters also held a corporate fundraising event to raise donations.
“Nearly $5,000 in donations was generated at MATS,” shared Tom O’Brien, President and CEO of TravelCenters. “That more than doubles any donation amount we’ve collected at a trade show for the SCF, once again proving the extreme generosity of drivers and their interest in helping each other,” he continued.
Each year, TA and Petro hold the Band Together for SCF fundraising campaign. The winning site for the 2013 campaign was TA Harborcreek, PA, which garnered nearly $7,500 in donations during the month-long campaign. Team members from the Harborcreek location attended MATS to assist in sharing information about the SCF and collecting donations in the TA/Petro booth at the show.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the dedication our Harborcreek store, restaurant and truck service teams have showed in raising money for the SCF,” O’Brien added. “They have set two winning donation records for the SCF in less than a year.”
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. To date, TravelCenters has helped to raise more than $1.1 million for the charity.
“I continue to be amazed by the generosity of all the TA and Petro customers and employees who have made this possible, especially the TA Harborcreek team,” said Dr. Donna Kennedy, Executive Director of the SCF. “To date, we have helped nearly 1,000 professional drivers with financial assistance with utility bills, mortgage payments and other monthly bills, paying out nearly $615,000, thanks to these generous donations that make it possible to help those in need,” she added.
In the most recent ‘Voted Best’ professional driver survey, drivers preferred TA and Petro by more than 2 to 1 over the next closest truck stop brand in the ‘Gives Back to the Trucking Community’ category. These results are based on an independent TA/Petro survey of Overdrive magazine readers.
TravelCenters of America LLC (TravelCenters), headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, is a leading travel center business in 43 states and Canada operating under the TA® and Petro Stopping Centers® brands. With 249 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. TravelCenters also operates gasoline/convenience stores in Kentucky and Tennessee under the Minit Mart brand name. For more information on TravelCenters and TA, please visit www.tatravelcenters.com. For more information on Petro Stopping Centers, please visit www.petrotruckstops.com.
