In September, armed with celebratory cookies, giveaways and new signs to honor truck drivers, nine members of the TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking) staff put on their hats and braved high temperatures to set up and man booths at seven truck stops in five states.
Why? To thank truck drivers for the work they do during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW), of course! This year’s weeklong celebration, sponsored by the American Trucking Associations, was held Sept. 13-19.
“Professional drivers truly keep our economy running, and they are incredibly critical to our nation’s infrastructure,” said Kylla Lanier, TAT’s deputy director and senior director for external affairs. “For that alone, they should be appreciated each and every day of the year.
“On top of that, so many drivers are also identifying and reporting human trafficking, which is leading to victims of this horrific crime receiving help! We, at TAT, cannot express our gratitude and appreciation enough,” she continued. “Getting out at truck stops and travel plazas during NTDAW to pass out cookies and other small gifts to drivers is just a small token of how we feel.”
TravelCenters of America, Love’s Travel Stops and Sapp Bros. Inc. hosted the booths for TAT.
Employee teams at three of the TravelCenters and one of the Sapp Bros. locations coordinated barbecues and gave away other food items to professional drivers, while one of the Love’s locations provided gift certificates.
These extras were in addition to TAT’s already planned giveaways:
- 5 Ultimate Headsets packages from Blue Tiger;
- 3 headsets from Roadwarrior Audio;
- $100 gift cards for Amazon, Starbucks and Love’s from McCollister’s Transportation;
- A grille guard from Ex-Guard;
- A Driver’s Essentials Kit from ProMiles; and
- Five $50 Visa gift cards, a luxury towel set, Subway gift cards and two TAT swag packages from TAT.
In total, TAT staff directly thanked and/or gave cookies to 339 truck drivers, while amplifying that message via social media.
“Having drivers stop and thank us for thanking them … it was quite moving and unexpected,” Lanier said. “The trucking industry continues to be an amazing partner with TAT in the identification of human trafficking, and the drivers are the eyes and ears of our nation’s roadways doing the right thing one mile at a time.”
Lyn Leeburg is the communications director for TAT (formerly Truckers Against Trafficking).
Established in 2009, TAT started with a simple yet powerful belief: Every truck driver can be a crucial ally in the fight against human trafficking.
Since then, TAT has grown to encompass a greater portion of the transportation industry, forming deep alliances to maximize collective effort through programs that include innovative training, partnerships with law enforcement, and advocacy efforts. Using targeted systems change as a model, TAT has raised awareness about trafficking, who it targets and its signs, and equipped individuals to take action whenever their lives intersect with it and its victims.
TAT is driven by the belief that together, we can make a difference.
