OTA urges more support for road to 100

TORONTO — It is exactly one month since the trucking industry’s OTA Education Foundation announced its ambitious 100 Donations in 100 Days fundraising campaign, and the Foundation is looking for more support to fund its 2011 university and college scholarships.

The Foundation is hoping to raise at least $40,000 from 100 donors before July 6th.

Despite a somewhat slow start, chairman Scott Smith remains optimistic that the Foundation will reach its target by the 100th day.

"We are certainly pleased with the uptake so far which has essentially relied on limited publicity such as the initial announcement and information on the Foundation’s webpage," notes Smith.

As a follow-up, a targeted campaign to carrier and allied trade members was mailed this week. "We’re hoping that more companies will be prompted to donate as a result of the direct mail efforts."

The scholarships are available exclusively to students whose parents work in the trucking industry.

Donors will also receive a charitable tax receipt from the Foundation, which is a registered charity. A donation form can be downloaded here.

The first eight donors for 2011 are Empire Transportation; Drumbo Transport; Manitoulin Transport; SLH Transport; HSBI Benefits; Kriska Holdings; Einwechter; Markel Insurance Company of Canada.