Plaid is undoubtedly a favourite wardrobe choice for truckers, so it was fitting the Ontario Trucking Association and Prostate Cancer Canada joined forces to signal the countdown to Wear Plaid For Dad.
In front of two beautiful plaid-printed tractor-trailers at the Truck World show in Toronto, Rocco Rossi, CEO Prostate Cancer Canada, and dozens of trucking company operators kicked-off the popular Plaid For Dad donation drive and challenged the trucking industry to become the top fundraiser in Canada for 2016.
Last year, OTA’s carrier members raised the second largest total of any organization.
The goal of the annual Plaid for Dad campaign is to raise awareness and donations to help protect men from prostate cancer and support those families impacted by the disease. The campaign drive runs up to Father’s Day on June 17, when people across Canada will be wearing plaid – whether it’s a shirt, tie, or even a Don Cherry-esque suit – to raise donations and help fight prostate cancer.
“After the marvelous fundraising effort by OTA carrier companies last year, we are honoured to have the OTA back on board for year two,” said Rossi. “Thanks to their tremendous enthusiasm and support, we are quite literally driving greater awareness and research dollars in support of the 1 in 8 Canadian men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and their families.”
Scott Tilley, president of Oakville-based Tandet, noted there is no shortage of important charities and initiatives the trucking industry is involved in, but, he added “there are few issues like this one that hit so close to home for so many of us. I’m proud of this industry and OTA carriers in particular for rallying together to support this cause.”
Added Steed Standard Transport’s James Steed of Stratford, Ont. “The awareness and funds we raise between now and Father’s Day could be saving someone we love one day down the road.”
Over the next 10 weeks two full-size tractor trailers will travel the country sporting pro-plaid graphics to promote the campaign. A Tandet company tanker will dispatch a direct message from Don Cherry while a SST van trailer will call on the industry to … umm … ‘pull up its socks’ for this great cause.
OTA president David Bradley said the participation from OTA carriers last year was impressive considering how spontaneous it was. “Carrier members like James Steed and Scott Tilley were the catalysts. They issued a challenge and the members responded and they had a lot of fun doing so.”
A fun, new social media contest was also announced. OTA is asking anyone in the trucking industry to upload their most creative or funny plaid-clad pics to Twitter. Kilts at a truckstop, pajamas in the sleeper, pets posing in plaid – it’s totally up to you. When you upload your image to Twitter be sure to include a mention to @ontruck and use the hashtag #plaidfordad. A winner will be announced after Father’s Day.
“If anyone knows how to rock the plaid, it’s a trucker,” says OTA VP of communications Marco Beghetto.
Help OTA become 2016’s top campaign fundraiser. To donate any amount to Plaid For Dad under Team OTA, click here (ALL proceeds go to the Plaid for Dad campaign).