How St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund Helps Drivers

The truck driver community is strong. There are a number of charitable organizations out there that will lend a helping hand when drivers need it. Probably the biggest of these organizations is the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund.

We were able to talk with Shannon Currier, Director of Philanthropy with St. Christopher who gave us some insight on what their organization does.

What is the overall mission of St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund?

The St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is a 501c3 charity supporting over-the-road and regional truck drivers when an illness or injury takes them off the road, causing financial difficulty.

We step in as a short-term safety net for qualifying drivers and pay necessity household expenses including rent or mortgage, utility bills, vehicle payments and insurance payments. All payments are made directly to bill holders. Money is never given to the driver. We pay those necessity household expenses only and cannot pay medical bills or other expenses. Our assistance keeps drivers in their homes, keeps utilities on, keeps a vehicle so they can get to and from appointments, and keeps them from losing their insurance.

We also provide free health and wellness programs for over-the-road and regional truck drivers including free flu, pneumonia, and shingles vaccines, free smoking cessation program, and free CDC approved diabetes prevention program. All of our programs are free thanks to generous donations from our corporate sponsors.

Can you tell me the history of SCF?

St. Christopher Fund was founded in 2007 by Dr. John McElligott (known in the industry as ‘Dr. John’), Dave Nemo (host of the Dave Nemo Show and owner of Radio Nemo, XM 146), and Dave’s business partner, Michael Burns (owner of Radio Nemo).

These 3 gentlemen spent years talking with drivers on the radio and heard drivers in despair over losing everything because of injury or illness and they decided something needed to be done. They created the St. Christopher Fund to be a safety net for these drivers. We helped our first driver in 2008 and, to date, have helped 3,602+ drivers with over $4.29 million in assistance paid directly to their bill holders.

Qualifications:

To qualify for assistance from St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, a driver must meet all of the following:

1. Valid Class A CDL
2. Over-the-road or regional semi-truck driver (500+ miles a day)
3. A medical issue caused the driver to have to come out of the truck short or long term
4. Medical issue has to have occurred within the last 12 months
5. Medical problem caused the driver to be out of work and caused financial difficulty
*Exclusion to the medical issue would be if the driver were intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs

The St. Christopher Fund is blessed with amazing donors (both individual and corporate) and we would not be able to offer the assistance we offer without the generosity of every one of these people and companies. Trucking is about people, and everything we do at SCF is to support the driver – with financial assistance, additional resources and helpful information, and to encourage healthier drivers. We are honored to be the facilitators of these generous donations and to make a difference in the lives of drivers and their families.

If a driver is looking for financial help, how would they go about receiving it?

We have an online application that is the quickest way to apply for assistance. But we can also fax or mail an application to anyone needing it.

For drivers who are experiencing difficult times but don’t qualify to receive assistance from St. Christopher, you can take a look at Drive My Way’s collection of resources for displaced drivers.

This includes links to unemployment resources, information about continuing your health insurance, disability coverage and more. You can also create a free Drive My Way profile below to find a job that fits your qualifications and lifestyle needs.