Trucks for Change and Cram a Cruiser

The team at Challenger Motor Freight often steps up to help meet the needs of people in our local communities. A recent example of this was our participation in an event organized by Trucks For Change. The premise of this organization is simple, but it’s effects are far reaching. “The Canadian trucking industry has a proud history of supporting its communities. We saw an opportunity to streamline the process, reducing time and increasing the likelihood that charities will find the right truck, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost…By donating truck space to help charities distribute donated food and materials, our network of leading trucking companies and industry suppliers are making communities across Canada a better place to live.” ( www.trucksforchange.org )

Challenger Driver Edward Petrssian helps with the Cram-a-Cruiser Event

While the normal task performed for Trucks For Change would be to pick up goods at Point A and deliver them to Point B, our most recent efforts were much more involved than that. The event, known as “Cram A Cruiser”, organized by the Michael Pinball Clemons Foundation’s JUST GIVE program,  took place on Wednesday, May 17, supporting the Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank, but of course it took much planning and preparation beforehand to make it all come together. Muzzammil (Maz) Bhatti, Local Planner, Cambridge Operations, said “This is a new event to Challenger, but we have been supporters of the food bank before.” Our Operations department orchestrated our involvement by working with Trucks For Change to determine what would be needed from Challenger, scheduling our trucks to be available and ready, and making arrangements for two of our drivers, Edward Petrssian and Sarabjit Birk to be involved. The day before the event, our trailers were cleaned and pallet jacks were picked up from our Groh warehouse in preparation for handling the skids of food to be picked up and transported. On the day of the event,  Ed and Sarabjit drove their trucks to stores in Scarborough and North York where they helped load the donations. Each truck carried 15 skids of donated food items. They then delivered their loads to a central location where they worked hard in 30 degree heat to help assemble, sort and pack boxes with food for delivery to their final destinations. They continued to help as the boxes were then loaded into police cruisers – Cram A Cruiser! – and taken to local schools to support their food programs.

What was the amount of food donations transported by Challenger in support of the Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank?

16,000 lbs!

When asked why Challenger gets involved in events like this, Maz’s response was “It’s something Challenger wants to do. Being a part of the larger community, Challenger wants to fulfil a need at such events, help a greater cause. We go, and we can provide not only the trucks, but the manpower and sometimes other necessary equipment as well. Our workforce is willing to go the distance. Between our driving force and our Operations teams, Challenger is committed to supporting the success of events like Trucks For Change’s ‘Cram A Cruiser’”.

Karen Cardillo
Challenger Motor Freight