If there is ever a time for traffic congestion, it’s for charity. That was the case on Mother’s Day in Lancaster, PA, when 590 tractor-trailers jammed the roadways for the annual Make-A-Wish Mother’s Day Truck Convoy.
The number of vehicles set an unofficial world record for the largest truck convoy. Organizers are awaiting validation by the Guinness Book of World Records, but are hopeful. The current world record is 416 trucks, set in the Netherlands.
The world record aside, the real winner is the children of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Now in its 27th year, the truck convoy has raised millions for the Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, North Delaware and Susquehanna Valley charities, including an estimated $350,000 this year along.
Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Organizers said this event started with one little boy’s wish to ride in a truck and talk to his sister on CB radio years ago. Thanks to the generosity of truckers, it has now grown into an all-day family celebration that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
There was a carnival enjoyed by nearly 7,000 people before the convoy rolled out to run a 26-mile look in central Pennsylvania. More than 120 Make-A-Wish children rode in trucks, which took nearly two hours to exit the industrial parking lot where they queued up.
The RoadPro Family of Brands is the primary sponsor of the event.
Hopefully, this record of 590 trucks lasts just one year and in 2017 even more truckers participate, showing that the trucking family truly is a caring and generous family.