CONNECTING CLASSROOMS OF GRADE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH PROFESSIONAL TRUCK DRIVERS
Trucker Buddy International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping educate and mentor schoolchildren via a pen pal relationship between professional truck drivers and children in grades 2-8. Trucker Buddy matches classes of students with professional truck drivers. Every week drivers share news about their travels with their class. Once a month, students write letters to their drivers. Students' skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies, and history are enhanced and learning is fun. Since 1992, Trucker Buddy has helped educate over 500,000 schoolchildren and introduced them to caring, compassionate men and women, professional truck drivers.
In November, 1992, a professional truck driver, Gary King, contacted a grade school in Williams Bay, WI and asked the principal for permission to write to a class of students as "pen-pals." One fourth grade teacher quickly agreed, and King began writing postcards and short letters every week.
The students eagerly wrote back and asked him questions about driving and the sights he saw. The teacher quickly recognized the value of the letters in stimulating the children's interest in reading, writing and other subjects, and integrated them into her teaching routine. When other drivers saw King writing his postcards and letters at the many truck stops he visited across the country, they, too, became interested in the program and wanted their own pen-pals.
The Trucker Buddy program became incorporated on July 1, 1993. Within the first year of operation, Trucker Buddy grew to almost 1,000 driver-teacher matches. The second year the program doubled, and doubled again in the third year of operation. By the end of the 1996-97 school year, there were approximately 5,000 driver-teacher matches, with 135,000 plus students participating in the Trucker Buddy program. In 1998, Trucker Buddy launched a new effort to recruit new drivers and expand services, and in 1999, the Board of Directors was expanded to include four active drivers and one teacher.
"Teachers adore the program because it makes school subjects come alive. The kids track the movements of their Trucker Buddy, discuss the places he or she visits, the loads hauled, and even personal facts. Many kids regard their Trucker Buddy as a true mentor, not just a pen-pal."
To be a Trucker Buddy requires a commitment of time and energy to help educate a class of grade school children. As a role model, it also demands a high degree of integrity and professionalism. All drivers in the Trucker Buddy program must agree to follow the rules on the website www.truckerbuddy.org You can also obtain an application from the website or for questions email info@truckerbuddy.org or call 1-800-MY-BUDDY
Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month for June 2005
Waupaca, WI- Brianna is a fifth grade student at Southern Elementary School in Falmouth, Kentucky. Her class was adopted by Trucker Buddy driver, William “TB2” Robles, who taught the class more than geography and writing skills. “[He] helps me learn how to use the atlas,” said Brianna, who added that she, “also loves trying to find how many miles he has done [on his trips].”
The students’ teacher, Ms. Chris Morris, joined the Trucker Buddy program in 2001, and has corresponded with William Robles for the past four years. “He writes where he picks up a load and where he delivers it, and the students must use their atlases to calculate how many miles he drives,” she said. “It is a very difficult concept for the students to learn about distance, and this activity gives meaning to why they need to learn the skill,” she added.
When Robles received a letter from one little girl who shared her frustrations with him about her lack of friends, he spent extra time with her and asked her for her assistance when he visited the classroom. When she received a small bear for her efforts, her face beamed. Her teacher described her response as “absolute joy,” in being chosen for the honor.
William Robles operates a Peterbilt under his own authority, B2 Transport, based in Bullhead City, AZ. He is a special Trucker Buddy to his students, and is one of nearly 4,000 professional drivers who share their time with elementary classes throughout the world. The only criteria to be a Trucker Buddy is to be a truck driver and willing to send a post card each week to a class in grades two through eight. Drivers and teachers can find out more about the program by visiting www.truckerbuddy.org or calling 1-800-MY BUDDY.
Robles will receive a personalized jacket, along with a check for $300 to spend on his class and $200 in Trucker Buddy merchandise, compliments of MultiMedia (www.tmi-multimedia.com), the advertising agency of choice for the trucking industry. He will also receive an IdleAire adaptor (www.IdleAire.com) and a Koolatron cooler as well as Donde Publishing’s “For the Long Haul,” reference guide for drivers. The class will receive a CrossCountry USA game from Ingenuity Works (www.ingenuityworks.com ), which will help them learn more about how trucks move freight across the continent.
