LONDON, Ont. — The Rope for Hope event that saw 14 individuals from the trucking industry rappel off a 26-storey building in London, Ontario in mid-June has helped raise a total of $67,000 to help grant wishes of children with life threatening illnesses through Make-A-Wish Southwestern Ontario.
The Trucking for Wishes Rappelling Team
“Our goal in the beginning was to raise $10,000 and grant Colby’s wish to take his family including his brother and sister to Disney World.” said Aaron Lindsay, v.p. of marketing at Trucking for Wishes. “But there was so much support from the trucking industry we were able to sponsor more wishes and raise over $65,000.”
The Trucking for Wishes rappelling team raised more than any other team across Canada.
“When we come together as an industry, we can accomplish anything,” says Glenn Caldwell, v.p. of sales at NAL Insurance. “This was a very high profile event for Make-A-Wish and it was a great place to showcase our amazing industry, people and companies.”
Lou Smyrlis, publisher and editorial director of Truck News, who completed the Rope for Hope challenge this year said: “Rappelling 26 storeys off the TD Tower in London was a great way to push my envelope and raise awareness for a great cause, which is really the most important thing to remember. So many people in our industry – some of them very nervous of heights – were willing to do this and in doing so captured the imagination of donors across Canada. As a result we were able to help some very special kids and I am very proud to have been part of this of the amount of money raised.”
The 14 courageous rappellers on the Trucking for Wishes team were:
1) Lou Smrylis from Truck News
2) Doug Coleman from Doug Coleman Trucking
3) Roman Lewinsky for Navistar
4) Claudia Milicevic from TransCore
5) Lynda Crickmore from Challenger
6) Geoff Topping from Challenger
7) Dionne from Birdseye Solutions
8) Carlo from TTR
9) Micheal Foy from Travellers Financial
10) Brandon Clark from Dalton Timmis
11) Glenn Caldwell from NAL Insurance/Healthy Trucker
12) Kate Oke from NAL Insurance/Healthy Trucker
13) Keith Caldwell from NAL Insurance/ Healthy Trucker
14) Aaron Lindsay from NAL Insurance/Healthy Trucker
As well, Trucking for Wishes will be making new trailer decals available exclusively to sponsors with all the proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.
“Each decal will tell a story of a wish that was made possible by one of our sponsors. We want to show the public what the trucking industry is doing to raise money and awareness for an amazing cause,” said Lindsay.
The trailer decal pricing is as follows:
- Small (One foot) – $29.95
- Medium (Two feet) = $59.95
- Large (Three feet) = $99.95
For more information please visit www.truckingforwishes.com or email info@truckingforwishes.com