That’s A Wrap
2nd Annual HAULIN’ FOR THE HOLIDAYS toy drive
The Young Professional Council did an amazing job with our 2nd Annual Haulin’ for the Holidays toy drive! It was a huge success! We were able to raise over $12,500 in toy donations just through Amazon wish list orders, not including toy drop-offs. That is amazing! Thank you to all of our members for supporting our Tennessee Charites, as well as a special thanks to Reliance Partners, LLC, Covenant Transport, Inc., Ozark Motor Lines, Inc., and Adams and Reese LLP for going above and beyond with their support.
Haulin’ for the Holidays is a state-wide initiative by the Tennessee Trucking Association and its Young Professional Council in partnership with local charities to make holidays brighter for Tennessee children, teens and families. It began last year when Troy Dickens, Rush Truck Center, had the idea and brought it to Patrick Mendenhall, Summit Truck Group, and Dave Huneryager, TTA. It was decided that we would do it and the Young Professional Council would spearhead the donations.
A special thanks to Jessie Merritt, Reliance Partners, LLC, Andrea Hall, Rush Truck Center, Patrick Mendenhall, Summit Truck Group, and Sarah Heffington, M & W Transportation Co., Inc., for all their hard work in getting the toy drive organized this year.
To see pictures from this year’s Haulin’ for the Holidays toy drop-offs, click here.
NASHVILLE/MIDDLE TN
Youth Encouragement Services
YES operates two youth centers that offer educational and recreational programs as alternatives
for kids 6-18 during after school hours and summer break. The YES Christmas Store will provide over 600 underprivileged children with new clothes and toys.
A Special Thanks to: Rush Truck Center, Neely Coble, and Cumberland Companies
MEMPHIS, TN
FedExFamilyHouse Santa’s Village
Mission: Create a shopping venue for parents with a child being treated at Le Bonheur Children’s and staying at FedExFamilyHouse leading up to Christmas Day.
How it works: Toys and gifts are provided for the entire family. Several generous groups and individuals provide new toys and gifts for all ages. Then we transform the FedExFamilyHouse conference room into a boutique for shopping, including holiday music and snacks. The family schedules time to shop accompanied by a volunteer or staff member who helps the family make selections. We expect to serve more than 100 families over nine days.
A Special Thanks to: Rush Truck Center
Chattanooga, TN
Chambliss Center for Children
The purpose of the Chambliss Center for Children is to preserve family unity and to help prevent the dependency, neglect, abuse and delinquency of children by responding to the community’s childcare needs.
A Special Thanks to: MHC Kenworth
Jackson, TN
Hands Up Jackson
Hands Up Jackson is a preschool serving low income 2.5 – 5 year olds. The toys and supplies will be used for the school and classrooms.
A Special Thanks to: MHC Kenworth
KNOXVILLE, TN
Marines Toys for Tots
The primary goal of Marine Toys for Tots is, through the gift of a new toy, help bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America’s less fortunate children.
A Special Thanks to: The Peterbilt Store, Skyline Transportation, Inc., and Thermo King of Knoxville
In conjunction with the above companies, we would like to thank the below East TN Towing Companies for helping make this event possible:
- Dan’s Advantage Towing
- Chestnut Street Towing and Transport
- Stooksbury’s Towing from Sevierville – donated a rollback full of bicycles
- Candido’s Towing and Repair – Somerset, KY
- Clinton Highway Towing
- Friendly City Auto Care and Towing – Athens, TN
- A-Tow Towing and Recovery – Oak Ridge, TN
- Floyd’s Wrecker Service
- Anderson’s Automotive and Towing
- Fountain City Towing
We were even pleasantly surprised that two women from North Carolina drove over and dropped off several boxes of toys. We are very thankful that they heard about the toy drive all the way from North Carolina and graciously helped out our amazing cause! Thank you to Clayton Homes, as well, for their generous donations.
Lastly, thank you to Josh from Dan’s Towing who put together gift bags for the donators that included specially-designed stickers commemorating the event.