The Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valley chapter will continue its annual Mother’s Day tradition of hosting one of the world’s largest fundraising truck convoys.
The 2021 Make-A-Wish Mother’s Day Truck Convoy will take place May 9 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The convoy provides funding more than 75% of the wishes granted for the Susquehanna Valley chapter, which includes areas of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
This year, Make-A-Wish has set the events fundraising goal at $300,000, of which more than 80% has been raised so far. The convoy is being presented by RoadPro and hosted by Manheim PA Auto Auction.
“RoadPro Family of Brands is honored to support the 2021 Make-A-Wish Mother’s Day Truck Convoy,” Gina Bonafede, a spokeswoman, said in a release. “This will be our 6th year as presenting sponsor of the convoy, and we are looking forward to recognizing these drivers that go above and beyond to help make wishes come true.”
The Make-A-Wish program grants wishes to children with life threatening medical conditions, giving them the opportunity to look at life outside of their current health issues. The program was created after studies foundchildren who were granted wishes were less likely to have unplanned hospital and emergency room visits, according to the Make-A-Wish website.
The Mother’s Day Truck Convoy was created over 30 years ago when a wish kid named Matt wanted to ride in a big rig truck and talk to his little sister Heather, on a CB radio. The Susquehanna Valley chapter reached out to the Teamsters and over 40 trucks showed up to grant Matt’s wish. Since then, the group has made the convoy an annual event.
Each year, the convoy is led by the group’s top 30 drivers, followed by grand drivers. The top 30 consists of the 30 drivers who raised the most money in the previous year’s convoy, while grand drivers consist of drivers who raised at least $1,000 each.
Top drivers for this year’s event include Kevin Johns of K.B.S. Inc, Rob Finch of Landstar, Ken Hanna of Insulation Corp of America and Tim Rohrer of Snavely’s Mill.
The 100 truck convoy will leave the Manaheim Pennsylvania Auto Auction at 1:30 p.m. on May 9.
Viewers can livestream the event on the Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valley’s Facebook page. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will not have the usual parade-like structure as in past years.
“We hope this can be the beginning of a safe return to celebrations in our area, and we appreciate the continued support of our community and our incredibly generous convoy drivers,” Terry Finch, co-chair of the convoy committee of Make-A-Wish, said in a statement.
Anyone interested in making a donation to the 2021 Make-A-Wish Mother’s Day Truck Convoy or supporting a specific driver or team can find more information here.
This article originally appeared on Freight Waves