Speaker 1: 0:08

Welcome back to another episode of that's Delivered. I'm your host, trucking Ray, and today we're diving into a conversation that every driver, every family and trucking needs to hear Out. Here on the road, we know that life can change in an instant. Illnesses or injury or even a medical emergency can take a driver off the road, leave a family without a paycheck. That's why today's episode is all about resources that are available to drivers. I need to know about St Christopher Truckers Relief Fund. It's a safety net that every driver deserves, providing financial assistance, health and wellness programs and true support for men and women who keep America moving.

Speaker 1: 0:42

I'm honored to be joined today by two incredible guests from the St Christopher Fund Diane Hossel, director of Operations, and Lindsey Bryan, health and Wellness Manager. Together, they'll share the powerful work that this organization does, the real stories that drivers have helped, and how you, as a driver or an industry partner, can tap into these resources or even pay it forward. So let's get into it All right. So welcome to the show. I'm so glad to have you both on. It's always great when we have more on the show, so more the merrier we got. Diane and Lindsay Really appreciate you guys coming on to talk to us about what's going on at SCF. You know your journey into the trucking world. A lot of people always wonder how did it all get started? What was the part of maybe growing up or anything like that?

Speaker 2: 1:40

that contributed to you guys being in the industry. I just always loved the nonprofit world, but when I was a little little girl, my dad had actually worked for Mack Trucks in New York when we lived there, and so I still have some of the things that he had. We have a Mack Truck stuffed dog and a charm bracelet and just different things. So a little bit of a connection.

Speaker 1: 1:57

Pretty cool. How about you, Lindsay?

Speaker 3: 2:00

My great grandfather actually worked as an over-the-road driver for a period of time, and I had the opportunity to work with a few over-the-road drivers when I did nutrition counseling some years back and I just I really loved the population. I had a unique struggle and my heart just went out to them. These are things the average person isn't thinking about on a day-to-day basis, and so I feel like it was just kind of meant to be when I found the St Christopher Fund.

Speaker 1: 2:26

Awesome. So, yeah, that's good man your grandfather and man. You guys got great backgrounds, as what happens to a lot of people. They know someone that's trucking and they want to also be a part of that bigger picture. Just also help out. What made the organization stand out to you as a place that you wanted to pour your energy into? There's so many other industries that can also use your skill set, but you chose this one. Why is that?

Speaker 3: 2:55

A bit of a funny story as to why I decided the St Christopher Fund was the one for me. With my previous employer we had started out as a not-for-profit and then it evolved into a for-profit and then it was bought out by a franchise and I just really wanted to get back to the nonprofit world. But I wanted to do it in a way where I felt like the money was going to the right place. Okay, and so when I went for my first in-person interview that was kind of part of the process of I want to make sure that they're a good fit, they want to make sure I'm a good fit and I walked into this teeny, tiny office with practically no furniture I mean, we're just a hole in the wall, that's what it is and I was like this this is the place for me.

Speaker 1: 3:42

Wow.

Speaker 3: 3:43

We actually. My previous employer was in the process of closing not too long ago and I called him up and I said hey, can we have your office chairs? We've got some really janky chairs, need some new ones, but it's not in the budget and so I swiped their chairs and that's how we have really nice office chairs now. But that's how you know the money's going to the right place is when it's things like that that your donation money is going to the right things, not office chairs.

Speaker 2: 4:17

I have the same kind of reaction when when I saw you know, I've always worked nonprofit and had, where I had worked previously we were helping senior citizens we had a tiny pot of money that we could help with utilities, basically what St Christopher does, and it was the tiny part of my day, it was maybe, you know, 20 minutes of my day. I got to work on that and so when I saw the listing for the director of philanthropy, I thought, oh my gosh, I get to do that all day, five days a week. That's what I get to focus on is helping people, and so it, it, it. It's a good feeling. I mean, I, I like helping people, but you know, at the end of the day I feel good about what I've done. Really selfish reasons.

Speaker 1: 4:54

That's good. You need that. That joy keeps you going. That's great. Um, what's the first thing you notice about truckers when you started? Uh them face-to-face and things like that. What was your impression there about the group of people?

Speaker 2: 5:10

They're a very, very interesting group of people. I mean they're just vast and different. To meet the female truck drivers, to me that was pretty fascinating. I remember meeting one at Matt's a couple weeks ago. She's about four feet tall but she was a force to be reckoned with. She had her own trucking company. So it was just interesting to see the different types of people that do truck driving. I have one of my best friends. Her dad was a truck driver and so you know I had kind of had some interaction with that a little bit. But it was just, yeah, just the different kinds of people and the family oriented and. But it was just, yeah, just the different kinds of people and the family oriented. And I mean it's a family business, everybody is all in. You can't be an over-the-road truck driver and be gone for several days and not have your family, have your back 120%, so that was a rewarding thing for me to see that.

Speaker 3: 6:00

Nice. How about you, lindsay? Yeah, yeah, well. So Diane had a very similar experience that I did a couple of years ago and that pretty much my first week at the St Christopher Fund was starting out at the Mid-America Trucking Show. It was sink or swim, do or die. Eight days in and I went to Matt's industry. But the way I have described the over the road population over the last couple of years since that original trucking show was they are blunt, they are generous and they are genuine, and it is the best combination of traits and it's one of the reasons why I love working with them, because you know exactly where they stand when we're talking about health and wellness. You know what they're willing to change and what they're not. We don't have to beat around the bush, we just get right to it. We start making progress and I love that. I love that about this population.

Speaker 1: 6:53

Awesome. Well, I got a question for Lindsay. When it comes to health and wellness, do you have any idea of how it's unique, when it comes to health challenges, for the trucking industry to get better involved? What ideas came across for you guys?

Speaker 3: 7:13

Yeah, so really there is a wide number of health disparities that come in with over-the-road drivers, and it seems like little things when you look at the surface, but it creates this whole big messy web of challenges for them.

Speaker 3: 7:29

And so it's things like you're functioning with a mini fridge on a regular basis, if that it's a few fast food places at that. We've got limited access to our primary care doctor, and so when drivers do get sick, they're less likely to go to the doctor first thing are going. If this isn't just a quick, easy cold, then it's worse than what it would be if I were to go to the doctor, right, you guys will hold out to the bitter end because it's not convenient. It's not convenient because of doctor's hours, right, and so we end up with all these things that really add up and create a very messy situation. It's hard and it's hard to get access to good quality programs, and so that's where my role comes in is to try to provide more. So the preventative side of things, to prevent some of the big, bad, scary one strokes and heart attacks and that sort of thing, but also to prevent some of the chronic conditions that lead to the big, bad, scary things.

Speaker 1: 8:41

Yeah, absolutely so. Um, man, that's, that's a big, big challenge. Um, when you take on those, um, how do you guys uh help? Bridge the gaps, uh, when it comes to those things, uh, when it comes to health and those important things, uh, how do you guys help to understand the importance that these programs you guys have are going to help them?

Speaker 3: 9:03

Yeah. So if we look at the top six reasons why drivers are out of work and this kind of bridges the gap between our beneficiary side and our health and wellness programs, top six reasons are stroke, heart attack, diabetes complications, cardiovascular disease, broken bones and fractures there's only so much we can do there and cancer. And so if we look at those top six, we really can prevent or delay the vast majority of those, and I take my job very seriously. Every new lung cancer case that comes through I'm like gosh, we were too late for this person. But we try to keep growing the programs to catch the next one right before it's too late, and so all of our programs are targeted at those top six reasons, trying to reduce those rates for drivers.

Speaker 1: 9:56

When you go to these road events, when you're out there and you meet drivers, what's one thing that always comes up when it comes to health? I know you mentioned six but from your angle?

Speaker 3: 10:12

what about from their angle? Yeah, you know, the questions that I get most often tend to be things like supplements. It's what you think of as like the quick fix. We're looking for a quick, easy way to fix problems that they may already be facing or that they're concerned about, and I love that idea of like they're looking for solutions. Right, how do we fix this? It's not always that easy, but it's also not nearly as hard as what we might imagine that it is, and so I'm always trying to bridge that gap of we don't necessarily need to go eating garlic, like what it might take to get blood pressure down.

Speaker 3: 10:45

But there certainly are some things that we can change dietary wise to get that blood pressure down that are very effective, and it's studied and there's research and there's vast amounts of data that show up the garlic not so much. But there's other things that we can do that are not nearly, as we don't have to go run a marathon in our free time either. There's a happy middle ground that hopefully makes it feel a little bit easier.

Speaker 1: 11:09

Man, that sounds realistic Because I get all these tips about grapefruit garlic. I'm like I'm already eating raw it doesn't have to be that. Yeah, the struggle is real. Wow, yeah. So the next one I was going to go into is who wants to tackle this one? Is you know? So, for right now, what exactly does St Christopher Trucker Relief Fund? What does it mean for drivers? How do they view it? What kind of emerging situations do you see that often come up for drivers when they reach out?

Speaker 2: 11:46

Well, that was one of the highlights of being at the convention a couple weeks ago was there were drivers that came up and said hey, last year I had a heart attack and you guys helped us. You know they love what we do and me being on the donor side, of course, talking to folks that donate funds and being new to the organization. I reached out and called and had one of our donors who it's $10 a month, that's all he gives. But he said I've never used your resources. Hopefully I will never have to. He said but I want to support it and I tell everybody about it every chance I can get.

Speaker 2: 12:22

So the more people that we can get to know about what we do and about especially the end that Lindsay does. We love being able to write checks for people. It would be grand if we didn't have to do that for heart attacks or cancer or anything like that it's. You know it's a it's a double-edged sword. You don't want to have to have to do your job, but it's great that we can, and so I think that, like, the more people that know what we do, the better it's going to be and hopefully we can support. You know it's a growing industry, hopefully, who knows, I don't know. But, like I said, I think it's going to be a good thing the more people that know.

Speaker 1: 12:54

So what's the turnaround? How quickly can SCF, you know, step in and help out in a health crisis? Help people out if they never have to use it? Not know but what's the turnaround?

Speaker 3: 13:05

how quickly it goes pretty quickly. Yeah, we're honestly usually waiting on medical records. That's kind of the longest part of it. Um, we are very thorough in the process when people register. So sometimes people are surprised that oh, you need medical records.

Speaker 3: 13:22

But part of what's happening here is we've got a medical director who looks those over and helps to make determinations on how long this person needs to be out of work. So for Diane and myself, if we break a leg which, knock on wood, hopefully doesn't happen, but if it were to happen, pretty much as soon as we're not silly from pain medication, we could go back to work. We're sitting here at a desk. We can do that. You guys can't do that as, over the road drivers, you're going to be out for a while and so our medical director is looking this over from a DOT perspective. This is somebody who's having to try to get in and out of a truck and the FMCSA guidelines and that sort of thing, so we're very thorough. So sometimes there is a delay in getting those medical records, but usually we're looking at a couple of weeks just depending on those records from start to finish, and we're very thorough in that. But it helps to weed out the scammers and make sure that people that really need it are getting that help.

Speaker 1: 14:19

Nice yeah, that's good man, so they can rest assured they can feel at ease. You know it helps out with a lot of the anxiety out there on the road. So nice job, guys. What are some real world issues that are you know that you guys are doing to help helping drivers tackle their health and wellness? Like you said, there's a lot of those home remedies and things like that, but what are some things that they can look at?

Speaker 3: 14:52

Yeah, so one of my favorite classes that we focus on is healthy habits for the long haul, and it is specifically designed for road drivers. It's a 12 week course. We meet on zoom. They don't even have to be able to see the screen, they can just tune in, listen in while they're driving, and we cover a wide assortment of things. We're talking about nutrition. We're talking about picking apart nutrition labels not just the numbers, but also what is the front telling us and does it actually mean anything?

Speaker 3: 15:23

There's all these catchphrases, so we want to be able to look through some of the nonsense. We talk about things like heart health and stress and how does that impact your health, and hydration, and just a wide assortment of things, and we get into the nitty gritty of it. People ask hard, sometimes uncomfortable questions, and I'm there to answer those, and weitty of it. People ask hard, sometimes uncomfortable questions and I'm there to answer those and we work through it. But I think it's important to cover all of those things, and so I really think nutrition is the number one thing we can focus on, but, like I said before, it doesn't have to be anything crazy intense. Right, we're not eliminating all sugar and all red meats and all the things that taste delicious. It's not a cardboard diet.

Speaker 1: 16:10

There's a happy middle ground that supports your health and wellness goals, while also tasting good too Nice. So, to recap, matt's Mid-America Trucking Show you guys played a big part there, so kind of helped the audience that weren't able to attend. What were some of the things they missed out on? Who wants to tackle that one?

Speaker 2: 16:26

Well, they obviously missed out on meeting us at the St Christopher. We had this lovely spin the wheel you got to win a prize. We had some amazing donors that donated prizes. We had the big event which was our silent auction. The big event, which was our silent auction, I want to say there was about three dozen items that we had that ranged from electric frying pans that we had, a beautiful rifle that was donated. We had handmade blankets, there was a lovely bottle of bourbon. Somebody got a really good deal. It was appropriate with us.

Speaker 2: 16:57

Being in Louisville that evening was a lot of fun and we raised close to about eight thousand dollars that night. So that was fantastic. And then just to be able to I think there was over 700 vendors to see the different types of things that you could get, you know and to there. One of the things that astounded me was this big, beautiful, four hundred thousand dollar truck that had a full size refrigerator in it and there were six of us standing in there. And so just to be able to see the different types of things that the services that truck drivers have access to, and just plus just the shiny bells and whistles that you can add to your truck because you spend most of your day, most of your life, sitting in there. You want it to be nice, so they had some really cool things. It's a non-truck driver.

Speaker 1: 17:48

I just thought they were really neat, for lack of a better word. Yeah, it was, I was. I was definitely in awe of a lot of things in there. Man it's. It was no end. You know, you could spend all your money in there.

Speaker 2: 17:56

Oh yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1: 17:59

Was there any interesting conversations that surprised you guys? Anything that encouraged you while you were there?

Speaker 2: 18:05

Again, just the support that people do know about us. I'll tell you, definitely, when I'm driving down the road and I see truck drivers, I think of them in an entirely different light. I was stuck in traffic last week trying to get to the office and I was sitting there surrounded by truck trucks and I just I told Donna, our executive director, that I wanted to just kind of roll down the window and yell at all these truck drivers hey, do you know what we do? But I, you know, refrained from being kind of totally embarrassing about what we do. So but yeah, just that that it was. It was pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Yeah, no, that's cool. I love the passion. You know you always could do the air horn pump too, right?

Speaker 3: 18:48

Yes, yes.

Speaker 1: 18:50

Yeah, yeah, I hope that never goes away.

Speaker 3: 18:53

No.

Speaker 1: 18:55

So was there any major trucking event show that stood out to you too, or other than you know, something that you guys could lean from or grow from, anything like that that Matt's had to offer?

Speaker 2: 19:10

Just being able to, to hear firsthand what the truck drivers, what their actual real needs are. I mean, again, we're not truck drivers sitting in our office and so we can think of all these great things, but wouldn't that be kind of a neat and and but but until you figure the real-world practicality of it and that's where you get, is where you get that one-on-one connection with those drivers and what they actually need, as well as industry leaders, those that own their own trucking companies, whether they're the big, large, massive ones, or if it's a family-owned business where they have three, four trucks maybe, or if it's a family-owned business where they have three, four trucks maybe. So that part was pretty key for me, especially being new to the industry, is to actually be able to talk to them specifically about what their needs are and hopefully, down the road we can do something along those lines of what they're looking for.

Speaker 1: 19:56

Yeah, I mean think about some of the programs you got. I think it mentions rigs without SIGs, diabetes prevention, healthy habits, vaccine voucher programs, et cetera. It looks like quite a few programs available. Man, those are great. Who wants to touch on the rig without SIGs?

Speaker 2: 20:21

I think that's a Lindsay question, right there.

Speaker 3: 20:23

This is one of our longest running programs and it really is one of the most thorough. I love it because I get to work with drivers one-on-one and we get into all sorts of conversations because it all plays into what has created and then exacerbated tobacco use. So when we talk about the stress of the job just the free time that is there while you guys are on the road for long periods of time but we start with an initial intake I'm asking a ton of questions. I want to get to know them. When did it start and what purpose is it serving and what are the habits actually look like and what have they tried in the past?

Speaker 3: 21:04

And then we talk about all of our different treatment options. We can offer things like nicotine replacement therapies, like patches and lozenges. We can talk about medication options. We've got a lot of different support options as well. So things like grinds, coffee pouches they'll send a couple of free canisters. It's like a flavored coffee pouch that goes tucks in your cheek, but no tobacco, no nicotine. So it's a good replacement.

Speaker 3: 21:31

So we just talk about all the different options that are available. How can we make this program successful to them? And for each one of them, it's going to be completely different. And then I call and check in with them. So we're doing the counseling, support and the treatment options and it's all completely free for over the road truck drivers and we have a very high success rate compared to other programs, which I'm very proud of.

Speaker 3: 21:55

And I'll share that number because I think sometimes it's you know, you want to see a hundred percent right and it's just not the reality of tobacco cessation. But we use training through the MD Anderson Center and their success rate is 43% and ours is actually right there with them at 43%. But the difference is that they track their participants over six weeks. I track my participants over a year, an entire year from the time that they quit smoking, going forward, because we're offering prizes along the way. So I want to get them to that one-year milestone. I want them to get their really awesome prizes from Road Pro. So I mean I get to know these drivers on a really personal level. Sometimes I know about their families.

Speaker 1: 22:40

I know about their dogs that are riding with them.

Speaker 3: 22:42

I know about all sorts of things. And then it allows me to support them in other health and wellness areas too, which is really cool.

Speaker 1: 22:50

Oh, that's awesome, that's great. I mean they need that. It's such a hard drug to overcome. It's not easy. A lot of struggles that go into that. So the support we can give is going to be huge and life-changing, you know, absolutely. But the diabetes prevention program I mean that's another program. That's a hardcore illness in itself, you know.

Speaker 3: 23:17

Yes.

Speaker 1: 23:18

What do you got?

Speaker 3: 23:19

It's much needed. It's set up very similar to Healthy Habits for the Long Haul, in that we've got a 12-week group. We're covering a lot of similar topics, but it's tailored more so for people who have got some significant risk factors with diabetes. So our goal is to catch it early and make some significant changes so that we can try to prevent it altogether. That would be the number one goal. But if nothing else, we're at least going to significantly delay the onset, and so that improves quality of life long term. It reduces the risk of damage from elevated glucose levels longterm. So we've got a lot of really important benefits, even if we can't 100% prevent it. But we get into the nitty gritty of nutrition and how that plays into it and other factors like sleep and stress, but also just eating balanced meals.

Speaker 3: 24:16

So we talk about things like what do we do if we want a dessert, because we're going to have that cookie every so often? Right, we want the piece of cake and I want them to enjoy that and let it be a guilt-free thing. But how do we pair up foods? How do we watch the portion size? How do we think about, you know, maybe going for a walk to mitigate that glucose spike? How do we support our pancreas essentially in all of that, to allow us to enjoy it without seeing a big glucose spike and leading to those risks long term?

Speaker 1: 24:47

Yeah, I mean a sedentary sitting for a long period of time. People say I don't know how you do it and some truck drivers probably say I don't know how we do it either.

Speaker 3: 24:57

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's hard, it's mentally tiring, it's physically tiring, even though you're seated, but it's still tiring. But it creates all these other risks it does.

Speaker 1: 25:11

Awesome that you guys are taking that on. Thank you, other programs too. I mean you got the vaccine program vouchers right yeah.

Speaker 3: 25:20

So this is a voucher that can be used at Sam's Club or Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger and the Little Clinic. So we've got a wide variety of options as to where they can use the voucher. And we cover shingles vaccinations. So it's a two-part vaccination, so they've got to get both of them to get the best benefit. But we cover both Flu, so somebody can come back every single year if they want to get the flu vaccine every year. We covered pneumonia and also COVID-19 for anybody that wants to get it. I know it's controversial so we're certainly not pushing it, but if they're for anybody that wants it, that feels like they're high risk and wants to get it, Then we will cover it.

Speaker 1: 26:06

That's great. Any other programs that I missed?

Speaker 3: 26:10

One other one that we missed, and that one is we call it GPS, which is get preventative screenings. So we cover preventative cancer screenings, both for colorectal cancer and prostate cancer.

Speaker 1: 26:23

Wow yeah, cause that's a sneaky one. It comes out of nowhere, everybody's like no no, but yeah, getting those screenings be ahead of the curve, ahead of the game, that's great. I feel like you have a chance to, you know, prevent some of this stuff from spreading. So the Heart and Soul Virtual 5K, let's talk about that. You know what's it about. How do folks get involved?

Speaker 3: 26:48

Yes, well, so let's start with where it started, which is a really cool story. One of our ambassadors, sean. He joined one of the programs I was running back in 2023. And I could just tell on his face he had seen some things, he had had some big life events happen and he and I got to talking one day after class. I always tell people I'll stay on if they've got questions, and he stayed on and got to ask me some questions and we just kind of dug deep and he shares his story very openly.

Speaker 3: 27:22

But he actually lost his son a number of years ago. He was only 18 months old and it was just a really sad case. I mean, no known cause, just a really sad situation. But he was struggling. He was struggling in life and he found our programs quite by accident or or maybe not by accident, who knows um and he, uh, he's just, he's gone from surviving to thriving is what has happened in the last year and a half since I started working with him. But early last year he said I want to do a 5k this year. That's on my list of goals. He wrote it down, he sent me his list of goals and I said, well, let's make it happen. Where do you want to do this 5k? He looked into local ones. He said I think we should.

Speaker 3: 28:09

I think the St Christopher fund should do what?

Speaker 3: 28:11

And I said I like that idea actually, and so we talked it over and, um, you know, initially I was like gosh, I don't know that I'm ready to take on organizing a 5k, but how can you say no to that, Right? So next thing, I know I'm organizing a 5k and, uh, we made it happen. So he and I actually got to virtually walk the 5k together. I got him on the phone and he was out on West coast time and beyond East coast time. But we made it work and had a great conversation through it, and so we're doing it again this year.

Speaker 3: 28:44

It is coming up in May, may 11th through the 18th, so you have an entire week to complete. It Doesn't have to be all at once. The goal is not to be the fastest, it's just to get it done. And so we've really got two main goals. One it functions as a fundraiser, of course, to support our missions, both the charity side of our organization and also the health and wellness programs. But it's also just to encourage drivers to get up and get moving. It's easy to lose track of the day and suddenly you're 10 hours in and you're exhausted, right. Nobody wants to go and get out and walk at that point, and so if we can space it out, if we can encourage that movement, then it makes a difference, even if it's 10 minutes here or there. So that's true of the 5K too. If it's 10 minutes here and there throughout the entire week to get it done, so be it. It still counts, it matters, it makes a difference.

Speaker 1: 29:36

Nice, awesome man. That's great, and they can get more involved and stay healthy and also be a part of something like a community. That would help them push them forward and not feel left behind. So great, I love that. I love that it's virtual. It makes it accessible for a lot of truck drivers out there. I mean, on the past year, it looks like you probably had a good turnout, right.

Speaker 3: 30:02

We did. Yeah, I was amazed at how many people we got involved, and getting to see their pictures from all over the country was just a really cool situation. We had people that joined with their whole family, which is even more cool. My son actually walked it with me. I ended up doing multiple 5Ks to make sure everybody was covered.

Speaker 1: 30:21

Whoever wants to participate.

Speaker 3: 30:23

I'll come walk with you virtually, so my son joined me for one of them. Our team walked one together and one with Sean, so it was a very cool experience, but I would do that with anybody. Anybody needed a walking buddy. I will absolutely do that and, um, but yeah, the families that were joining just nationwide. It was awesome to see.

Speaker 1: 30:43

That's good. That's real good. Um so yeah, so it looks like, um, there's a lot of impact. There was a lot of legacy. That's involved the roles that you guys play each and every day. It helps keep us inspired. I think that's great that you guys have that story to tell, and I'm also glad you guys came on the show. Is there a moment that you can think of? This is why I'm doing this. I don't know if you wanted to speak on it either way, this is why I'm doing this.

Speaker 2: 31:14

Mophie wanted to speak on either way. Well, my moment of this is what I want to do happened even before I got the position. About a month or so ago, one of my dearest friends from 30 years plus her dad was a truck driver and he has passed away since, but he had a massive heart attack when we were in college and she was worried she was going to have to drop out of college. And I remember that period, but I don't really remember. You know all the details on it, but it was. She didn't know if she could afford college. She didn't know if she was going to have to go and get a job to help her mom, help take care of her sister. And when I told her, oh hey, I'm applying for this great position she got, I mean I got goosebumps because she just teared up and she said if there, if that had been here 30 years ago, she said that would have made my life a lot less stressful. Thankfully she did get to stay in college because the university was able to help her.

Speaker 2: 32:01

But but just to know, okay, so this is actually. These are real people, these are. These aren't just stories, these aren't just little anecdotes or anything. These are real people and so to, and so to me it's not just one story, because if you're in that moment, if you're calling us, you're probably having a horrible life moment and to you that is the most important, the most biggest thing that you can have in your life. So to me it's kind of they're all together and so you just have to remember that is. You know, these are real people and these are their lives and we're getting to help them. So we're grateful to all of our donors that help us, give funds so that we can then turn those We've given. Correct me if I'm wrong, lindsay. There has been 4,000 truck drivers and their families that we've helped and it's about $5 million that we've been able to distribute since St Christopher Fund has been around.

Speaker 1: 32:58

And growing every week. Yes, awesome Congratulations. Yay, oh man, touching all those individuals lives. That's huge. Thank you guys. What do you wish that more people outside of the truck industry knew about when it comes to the individuals? That you guys are able to help, or the fact that you guys are actually involved so much and maybe they don't know that it's available? What's something that you wish people knew?

Speaker 2: 33:27

The biggest thing is when I tell people you know you need to stop and think about where does everything that you use every day come from? I think the number is 70% of the things that you use every day, whether it's food or it's raw materials that's brought to you by an over-the-road truck driver. I mean, we all remember five years ago when COVID hit and the chain of supply was just, I mean, it just crumbled and so no one could get toilet paper and no one could you know, and and so you know people remembered it five years ago and I think everybody's kind of become a little bit more complacent, a little bit. They have forgotten how hard that was. And so you know our truck drivers some people might think this is a really easy job. You get to sit all day, you get to travel with your dog, you get to see the country. It's a hard job. I mean it plays a role on their health, which is why, you know, I'm so grateful that we have Lindsay who oversees all of the health and wellness programs.

Speaker 2: 34:18

And so just I think the big picture is, yes, we want our truck drivers to know about this, but we want just your average Joe that is walking through the produce aisle to stop and think where does this come from? Where does this banana that I'm eating, how does it get to me this come from? Where does this banana that I'm eating, how does it get to me? And so that's kind of our next thing that we're going to be working on is just thank your truck drivers. I mean, in September they have Truck Driver Appreciation Week, but we need to thank them every day. So, like I said, that's my big thing is, when I'm on the road and I see these truck drivers, I have a whole new perspective, and my poor family has to listen to me in the car when I talk about. This is what we do and this is why we do it.

Speaker 1: 34:59

Nice. And then you got to think bring that home for the truck driver. What would you say to them right now, if they're skeptical or maybe too proud to ask for help? They're listening to this episode, what would you say?

Speaker 3: 35:13

or maybe too proud to ask for help. And they're listening to this episode. What would you say? Yeah, I would tell them.

Speaker 3: 35:17

Yeah, change is scary and it can be very intimidating, it can be overwhelming, and I hear sometimes people say, well, I know what I'm supposed to do. Well, we all know what we're supposed to do. Right, we're supposed to eat our vegetables, we're supposed to eat whole grains. But we are here to help support you in what you may already know you need to do. We've got a great community. They make friends with each other.

Speaker 3: 35:42

I've had drivers end up meeting up from across the country just to connect in person. So I mean, they're forming like their own little family is what it feels like, which is a very cool thing, but then literally supporting each other through all of these health and wellness goals and sometimes it even trickles down into mental health things as well, and so so sometimes it's not that you don't know what you need to do, is that you just need a little support along the way. And that's where I come in and the groups come in and we'll help provide you with the tools and resources that you need. But also, if you don't know where to start, that's okay too. We see all types. Everybody's starting in a different place and we're all learning something new. I learned something about the trucking industry all the time, and hopefully they're learning a little bit about health and wellness all the time too. So it's an exchange of information and I would love to be a part of that.

Speaker 2: 36:32

And I can vouch for hearing that one side of the conversation where Lindsay's talking to participants in those health and wellness. But she's a great cheerleader. I mean, she is supportive and just gives them the answers and even you know they're like, well, I'm going to eat this and she's like, OK, well, let's look and see what the sodium levels on that are. That's a, that's a great start, but let's, maybe how can we make that one better? So that's been interesting to listen on my end as we sit in our tiny office together.

Speaker 1: 37:01

Yeah, you'd be surprised. I mean you're like, wow, look at the sodium on that, the sugar too.

Speaker 2: 37:08

It's like yeah, she's got me thinking when I go grocery shopping now too.

Speaker 1: 37:13

Yeah, you, you gotta read the labels. The fun killer facts, yes I know, I know I'm here to kill all the fun but, hey, the the real fun is that you know you get to be healthier and get to be around for those great moments that you get to uh share with, uh, your loved ones, or even uh, even right here, you'll be able to get work done um provide for yourself.

Speaker 3: 37:42

So, yeah, that's great um I always tell them my goal is not only to help them live longer, but to have a better quality of life I want to get them to retirement and then let them do whatever it is they want to do. We don't want him leaving us at 61, which is the average life expectancy of an over-the-road driver, and frankly it's way too short. It shouldn't be that, so we hope to make a difference in that?

Speaker 1: 38:08

Yeah, it's a scary deal.

Speaker 1: 38:10

I mean let alone, um, the accidents that happen out there on the road. But, yes, you want, you know, just trying to just think you're ready to retire and then, bam, you know, I didn't see that coming. It would not be good. Um, glad you guys are doing what you're doing. I mean, that was great that you're on the show telling other people about it so that they can be proactive of taking care of themselves and doing what, like you said, the things that they should be doing. We know what we should be doing but we tend to put those by the wayside because we're trying to get that load delivered, you know, or whatever. What's some of the success stories? Do you know any success stories that you're willing to share about individuals that came through for didn't think they needed it and it came through for them?

Speaker 3: 39:01

Yeah, I can gosh, I can think of so many, but there's one that I really love. He's got just a special place in my heart because he was one of the first people that joined Ricks Without Stakes when I first started and he actually just celebrated his two year tobacco free milestone there at the end of March March 26, I believe. It was so like a really great success story. But in working with him we ended up talking about some other health concerns that he had family history and things like that and I said well, you know, we've got some other programs that you might benefit from. So what do you think? Let's try them out. And he went through healthy habits for the long haul with me and he's done his preventative cancer screenings and I love him to death because I can relate to this 100%. He's got a fear of needles, fear of blood, doesn't want to get his lab work done. I'm like I get it, dan.

Speaker 2: 39:54

I do. I don't want to go get my lab work done either.

Speaker 3: 39:57

I might pass out on any given visit. He's the same way, so we totally relate to that.

Speaker 2: 40:02

We have our own support group then, because I'll be in that.

Speaker 3: 40:04

Yes. So he and I we talked through okay, here's some strategies to try to prevent passing out, but also let's talk about what's the bare minimum that we need to get done to make sure that we are not setting ourselves up for health problems long-term. And I actually this doesn't happen very often, but I had the joy of talking with his wife not too long ago, sometime in the last six months, and she just said, basically, you don't know how life-changing this was for him, he wouldn't go get his lab work done. And he just said, basically, you don't know how life changing this was for him. He wouldn't go get his lab work done and he was trying to treat things with you know, random essential oils and whatnot, because that's what he had learned, that's all he knew.

Speaker 3: 40:44

That was passed down for family and he lost a father, very young and to cardiovascular disease, and she was afraid she was going to lose him too. Is what it came down to? She was afraid she was going to lose them. And she said he's going to his appointments and he's being proactive about his health and he's stepping on the scale just to check, and now we know what his blood sugar is and we know what his blood pressure is and all these things, and um you know, I I hope that that makes all the difference for them long term. We're keeping families together. Longer is what I hope.

Speaker 1: 41:18

Yeah, yeah, because the time that we spend in the truck is time away from the family, and then health concerns.

Speaker 2: 41:25

Caregiving for your loved ones is a whole other thing, that you don't really get to spend time together quality time thing that you don't really get to spend time together, quality time. Well, and if you're living better and eating healthier and you're having healthier habits when you are home, you're having more quality time. You're not just kind of crashed on the couch and just exhausted or tired, you can actually go do things with your family. So that right there is is a win yeah, I, um, yeah, I totally understand.

Speaker 1: 41:56

Yep, spending time with your family and nodding off, it's almost like you're not there anyway. So, yeah, I've been there quite a few times.

Speaker 3: 42:06

It's hard, it's a very mentally demanding job and that bleeds into the physical side of things, but there are things we can do to help that awesome.

Speaker 1: 42:19

Thanks, guys. Uh, anything else you wanted to share before we go? Maybe, um, some tips or something that possibly, uh, people can look out for, or even just how to get more involved or to find you guys, anything you want to.

Speaker 2: 42:33

We actually have a smaller silent auction that is going to be going live on the 16th If you check out our Facebook page and I'm sure there'll be a link to it on our website as well and so, again, all of those proceeds that we generate from the sale of those items go back to helping truck drivers and their families, and we have some great things on there. We've got tax services that help you take care of your taxes, because I know one of the things I've discovered is, when we're trying to get the financial records, a lot of them don't know where their money is going, and so that can help you with that. So there's several great services that you can put bids on and, like I said, those monies will go back to helping truck drivers and their families.

Speaker 1: 43:15

Nice, that's awesome. Yeah, keeping the funds and all the paperwork that needed to get done to keep the truck going, I mean a whole nother job in itself, you know. So, yeah, thanks for helping out with that. That's awesome. Anything else?

Speaker 3: 43:30

I would tell people go check out our website truckersfundorg. It's got the 5K on there, it's got the application for assistance, it's got information about all of our different health and wellness programs and it also has our contact information. So even if it's just, I don't know that I want to sign up for diabetes prevention yet, but I want to ask some questions. That's okay too. It's got an email on there. I tell people call text email anytime. If I'm sleeping it's on silent, but any other time I will answer you back right away. And sometimes I catch myself texting with people midnight if that's what it takes, like we're going to celebrate those wins at midnight.

Speaker 2: 44:09

I got an email Friday night about 1030 that somebody was wanting to know do they qualify, and I was like, yes, here's where you can go, and so you might have another application waiting for you. Great couple days.

Speaker 3: 44:23

That's great thing. That's what we're here for, but we've got a lot of great information on the website. Even if they're not quite ready to commit to anything, it's all there. They can read about it and feel free to ask questions. There's no commitment to anything on the front end, and we'll look forward to hearing from them. Awesome.

Speaker 1: 44:41

Well, diane, lindsay, you've been amazing. It's been an amazing conversation. I think it's going to be a game changer for a lot of people that don't know about what it is that you guys do and how they can actually get more involved and also change your life for the better. So, both of you, I thank you from the heart for the work that you do and all that SCF has showed for drivers. They showed up and take care of a lot of families. So that's great To everyone listening. If you're out there on the road or you're in need, or if you want to get healthy or you just want support when it comes to working and getting it done, visit truckersfundorg, like Lindsay just mentioned. So whether you're lacing up for the virtual 5K or passing along the resources for fellow drivers, you're a part of something powerful. So thank you guys so much.

Speaker 3: 45:35

Thank you, thank you, yes, thank you for all you do.

Speaker 1: 45:39

Thank you, yep, my pleasure. So guys stay safe out there and, as always, let's keep it delivered.