Social media is a powerful tool. it helps us connect with people around the country, people around the world and others in the trucking industry. Truckers Logic takes the time to connect with our audience, connect with others in the trucking industry and it has helped us grow our community over the past year.
Yesterday we were on Twitter and we come across the Jake Russell Boulanger Memorial Fund website. This organization takes the time to help other truck drivers and truck driver families in honor of Jake. While we never knew Jake personally, we were able to watch the videos of Jake.
The truth of the matter, anyone that takes the time to help others, truck drivers or not, they deserve our full support. And Truckers Logic agrees that they deserve the proper recognition. We wanted to do a publication on them and it has been rightfully earned. We’ll take this time to portray their message, their needs and what they’ve accomplished over the years.
Each year, we are encountering new difficulties where we are tested. In June, Don McKinley, our President and a founder of the charity, passed away. This reinforced to us the need for new members and the need to establish a clear means of succession in our Standards and Guidance. Each of the members of the charity are here for a reason. To help those in the trucking community who have fallen on hard times due to no fault of their own.
We stick with this mission and aim to provide a ‘Hand up, not a Hand Out’ to those truly in need. It is a way to honor those drivers who started this charity.
Our online case management system, the ‘DMS’ continues to develop and we now are developing a self service online application to help streamline the application and verification process. We have had a significant increase in applications since the middle of the year and our volunteers are tirelessly processing the cases to get help to those drivers families most in need.
As you can see by the graph to the left, we help driver families in a variety of life sustaining ways. We never pay for frivolous expenses and check each case thoroughly before we help.
Just like in 2013, over 90% of the need that we see comes from health related issues. The category ‘Other’ includes payments to Insurance, car payments, taxes and the sort.
Our biggest difficulty remains fund-raising and obtaining volunteers. We are not getting the type of funding from truck drivers that we had expected. Our main benefactors have been a few individuals who believe in the mission of ‘Drivers Helping Drivers.
We are developing further methods of fund raising and intend to be at several truck shows during 2015. At the end of 2012 we had helped seventeen trucking families, in 2013 that increased to twenty-six. So far, as of October 1st, 2014, we have helped twenty-six drivers and their families, have over twenty-two cases being worked on with two cases being voted on this week. It is a busy time and we have a group of volunteers who have been working well together for nearly two years.
Anyone that wants to donate to the Jake Russell Boulanger Memorial Fund can do so by clicking here. Anyone that wants to volunteer can do so by following this link. Truckers Logic would like to take this time to properly recognize the fund and we’ll continue to support your efforts. Thanks for everything you do for our fellow truck drivers and families.