In The News

St. Christopher fund offers unique $10,000 scholarship to truckers

Medical conditions sideline numbers of professional truck drivers each year. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund is now accepting applications for a one-of-a-kind scholarship fund to help those drivers move forward with their lives.

A $10,000 scholarship will be awarded to a former professional truck driver whose medical problems have led to being unable to drive a truck. The award money will be used to fund an education at a college or trade school.

Applications can be downloaded from the SCF’s website and will be accepted through March 1, 2012. The scholarship winner will be announced at the Mid-America Truck Show on Saturday, March 24, in Louisville, KY.

“We often have applicants who will never be able to drive again due to a medical condition, such as being an insulin dependent diabetic,” said Dr. Donna Kennedy, executive director of the SCF. “However, these individuals are fully capable of earning a living by other means. We want to help them along by offering an opportunity to go to school to learn another trade. We are excited to be able to broaden our mission of helping drivers in need.”

The SCF was founded in late 2007 as a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization. Their mission is to provide assistance to professional truck drivers whose medical problems have led to financial hardship.

The SCF also conducts health research to benefit professional drivers and the trucking industry. To date, the fund has been able to provide more than $178,000 in financial assistance to more than 430 drivers. Assistance has been in the form of direct payment for household expenses, prescriptions, and medical bills. Among other things, approximately 100 additional drivers were able to receive assistance in negotiating hospital/doctor bills, finding local resources, and locating physicians to help them.

For more information about the St. Christopher Fund or to make a donation, visit www.truckersfund.org , send a letter to P.O. Box 30763, Knoxville, TN 37930, call 865-202-9428, or send an email to [email protected] .

This scholarship program was made possible by the National Association of Independent Truckers’ $100,000 donation to the fund last March. The SCF Board of Directors voted to allocate $10,000 of the donation for a scholarship program.

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