Happy Holidays trucking nation. Hanukkah has started and Christmas is almost here. We hope you’re making the most out of the season by spending time with your loved ones and enjoying your favorite holiday traditions.
While shopping for your favorite people and crafting the perfect gift list for yourself, we know that you’re also taking the time to think of others. One major way
truckers can give back to the community is to assist with Wreaths Across America.
Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America aims to remember and honor fallen U.S. veterans by placing a Christmas wreath on each veteran grave marker. This event takes place at the Arlington National Cemetery and many other locations across the nation.
Another purpose of this wreath laying event is to teach our nation’s children about the sacrifices made by our veterans and their families to protect our freedoms. Also, because many truckers participate in this event, they engage in educational sessions for local students to learn about the trucking industry.
The Wreaths Across America non-profit organization was founded in 2007 and has spread across all 50 states, but largely depends on the help of truckers to transport and lay enough wreaths to honor fallen heroes.
On every third Saturday of December, National Wreaths Across America Day takes place with wreath-laying ceremonies across the nation. In 2016, over a million wreaths were delivered with over 300 trucks volunteering by carrying about 5,000 wreaths per vehicle.
It takes about 60 trucks to deliver wreaths to Arlington alone and they drive from Maine to Virginia, creating the largest veterans parade in the world. This year National Wreaths Across America Day is on Saturday, December 16, and there are multiple ways you can help.
First of all, you can donate wreaths to honor the fallen men and women who sacrificed to defend our nation. Even by just donating one wreath to honor a grave helps Wreaths Across America complete their goal.
You can also donate your trucking services to help transport wreaths all over the country. There are over 1,200 locations participating. Wreaths Across America also needs volunteers to lay wreaths on graves during the event.
Those laying wreaths on veterans graves actually say the veteran’s name out loud and take a moment to thank them for their service as a way to honor their memory and keep it alive.
Even if you don’t donate your services, you can still show support by taking your family to the event. Many different ceremonies are scheduled throughout the day and the veterans parade is something you don’t want to miss.
If you’re too busy to attend National Wreaths Across America Day you can still help by attending the Wreath Retrieval/Clean-Up Day on Saturday, January 20, 2018.
Thank You Truckers And Veterans
ExpressTruckTax can never thank truckers and veterans enough. Thank you for your hard work and sacrifice. We hope you are able to take the time to head to a National Cemetery nearby to remember fallen heroes this Saturday.
Please share your thoughts on National Wreaths Across America Day in the comment section below.
