Originally known as Armistice Day back in 1919, a year after the end of World War 1, Veterans Day became an annual observance in 1926 and a national holiday in 1938, honoring all of our American veterans, both living and passed. (1) Road Scholar Transport, however, feels that the honorable men and women who serve or have served our nation should be commemorated year round, which is why we have not one, not two, but several awareness trucks dedicated to our veterans.
Support our Troops:
In 2013, we put our Support our Troops trailer on the road, saluting those who served within the five military branches.
Our Support our Troops trailer features the silhouette of an individual saluting with the yellow ribbon behind him known to represent the hope and support for the safe return of our troops.
With five icons spread across the trailer featuring the five military branches (the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard), our Support our Troops trailer is on the road to salute those that served.
Equines for Freedom:
The Equines for Freedom awareness truck made its debut back in Feb. 2018.
“Equines for Freedom’s mission is to offer free treatment for post-traumatic stress to veterans no matter what their source of trauma or characterization of service,” Barbara Cocolin, President of the organization told us. “Our approach is nontraditional. We use horses, an arena and the number one treatment in the country for PTSD called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Our services are 100% private. They are limited to the therapist, equine specialist, horse and veteran. We have a holistic approach in that we offer caregiver sessions (also free), as well as treatment for the veteran. Our hope is to help the entire family.”
Cocolin first heard about Road Scholar Transport’s awareness campaign when she was approached by our company’s president, Jim Barrett, at a restaurant.
“Great story,” said Cocolin. “We had our board meetings at JJ Bridges in Clarks Summit. Mr. Barrett was having dinner with his family on a night that we had a board meeting. He overheard what we do and approached us with heartfelt enthusiasm to help spread the word about EFF. He told us what we needed to do, which was just to get him our logo and information. Many thanks to him and Road Scholar.”
Incorporating the Equines for Freedom logo, Road Scholar developed the design for the truck, providing a silhouette of a horse and veteran with the American flag serving as the backdrop.
“Trucks travel the major highways across the country,” Cocolin acknowledged. “To have the opportunity for thousands of people to see our message is so exciting. If only one veteran sees it and comes to our program, it is a huge success. We work diligently to spread the word about EFF and this is truly exciting.”
Learn more about the nonprofit organization at https://equinesforfreedom.org/.
Fisher House
“On the road to help our military families,” that’s the motto on Road Scholar’s awareness truck supporting Fisher House Foundation. According to the organization:
Fisher House Foundation is best known for a network of comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment. These homes are located at major military and VA medical centers nationwide, and in Europe, close to the medical center or hospital it serves. Fisher Houses have up to 21 suites with private bedrooms and baths. Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, a warm dining room and an inviting living room. Fisher House Foundation ensures that there is never a lodging fee. Since inception, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $500 million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.
Fisher House Foundation also operates the Hero Miles Program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members as well as the Hotels for Heroes program, using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. The Foundation also manages a grant program that supports other military charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses, and children of fallen and disabled veterans.
Since the Fisher House program began in 1990, Fisher House Foundation has provided over 10 million nights of lodging to military and veteran families. We currently have 90 Fisher Houses located throughout the United States and in Europe.
Families served: More than 32,000 in 2019.
Families served: More than 500,000 since inception. (1990)
Our Hero Miles program has provided more than 70,000 airline tickets to wounded, injured and ill service members and their families, worth nearly $105 million.
The Foundation first heard about Road Scholar’s awareness program from one of our trustees, David Fox. He connected us through one of his friends to the owner of Road Scholar Transport, who helped make this generous offer possible.
Mr. Fox thought it would create some wonderful visibility for the Foundation, so we worked with our graphic designer and the Road Scholar team to get started on a design. We looked at other designs they have featured and decided to come up with something sharp and simple to share our mission.
Our design features an American Flag background and the statement, “On the road to helping military families” on the foreground. Also included is a photo of a Fisher House family. Our motto is “Because a family’s love is good medicine,” so we thought it only fitting to feature one of our families on the design. Our goal was to quickly illustrate what Fisher House does and included our website on the design so folks who see the truck know where to go to support us.
Road Scholar’s awareness program is amazing for charities. At Fisher House Foundation, we have a very limited budget on advertising, so to have something like this offered to us is really priceless. By utilizing Road Scholar’s program, we are able to increase our visibility to a countless number of people, who then in turn, could support us.
For more information on Fisher House Foundation please visit www.fisherhouse.org.
Road Home Foundation
You may have seen Road Scholar Transport’s Road Home Foundation awareness truck on the road, “Quietly supporting injured warriors and their families in times of need.” But what exactly is the Road Home Foundation and where did the idea to create a truck for them come about? Vice President & Board of Director for the Road Home Foundation for Injured Warriors and Families’ Michael Docherty explains:
“The Road Home Foundation is focused on serving the needs of injured soldiers and their families. We know that there are many excellent, well-established foundations and non-profits supporting our injured soldiers and veterans and yet, there are still often gaps in addressing injured soldiers’ needs, often when immediate support is needed. That’s where we come in. We hold regular fundraising events (often in partnership with others) to collect funds that are made available on short notice for support in times of need. Whether for funeral expenses, lawn care, or even in vocational training, we have a rapid-response process for proposing an award and gaining board approval. The process is fast, but still ensures adequate diligence to make sure that the donations we receive are put to good use.”
“One of our board members, Trish Ciorrocco, has done business with Road Scholar and made Jim Barrett aware of our foundation in late 2015. We were amazed to see the breadth of causes supported and we immediately grasped the genius of the idea: rolling billboards that could advocate for important causes. We were very impressed and so happy to be asked to participate.”
“The design [of the truck] was a collaborative effort between the designers at Road Scholar and our own design resource. While the family depicted on our awareness trailer is not one of our recipients, we felt the picture represented our families very well. We pride ourselves in protecting the identities of our award recipients. Our reporting and tracking monitor how the funds are used, but the family’s identity is never revealed publicly. We want to be ‘quiet advocates’ for these soldiers and their families, maintaining respect for their dignity and their need for privacy, especially in times of need.”
“We first saw the trailer in November 2016. It’s a fantastic program that reflects positively on Road Scholar Transport and its customers, while at the same time providing awareness and visibility for important causes that can improve people’s lives. We’re grateful to have been included in this outstanding initiative.”
Visit the Road Home Foundation’s website at http://roadhomefoundation.org/.
Camp Freedom
Camp Freedom joined Road Scholar’s awareness fleet a few years back, providing outdoor healing adventures for individuals with disabilities. The organization provides Veterans, First Responders, and their families a safe outdoor environment “while giving them exposure to the life healing benefits of outdoor activities.” These activities include shooting sports, water sports, target archery and hunts, and wheelchair accessible adventures.
For more information, visit http://www.campfreedompa.org/.
Check out all of Road Scholar Transport’s awareness trucks at https://roadscholar.com/awareness-campaign.
(1)https:/www.history.com/topics/holidays/veterans-day-facts
