The Log Book is a weekly rundown of human-interest stories related to the transportation industry. This week: J.B. Hunt is inducted into the philanthropic society of a Texas cancer center, NFI helps Girl Scouts earn their transportation badge and Werner continues to wear red to support a military nonprofit.
J.B. Hunt $1M endowment to support cancer research
Supply chain solutions provider J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced Thursday it has been inducted into the Anderson Assembly, a philanthropic society of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center located in Houston.
The induction follows a $1 million donation (The J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Cancer Prevention and Control Endowment) to support the center’s new initiative, the Joint Center of Geospatial Analysis and Health.
This project brings together MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention and Control Platform and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health to accelerate “the development and dissemination of evidence-based strategies, community services, policy interventions and knowledge to reduce the cancer incidence and mortality,” a news release stated.
“MD Anderson is an organization that is dear to J.B. Hunt as many of our employees utilize their expertise and resources. We are proud to extend our support to MD Anderson as its experts pioneer innovative cancer care and research to improve the health and quality of life for people across the world,” said Brad Hicks, J.B. Hunt’s president of highway services and executive vice president of people.
The supply chain solutions provider will also be featured in the center’s onsite museum exhibit, Faces of Philanthropy.
“J.B. Hunt’s leadership directly enabled a novel vision to help communities access expert analyses at the intersection of place and health,” said Michael T. Walsh, Jr., executive director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform. “This work, built as a global public good, will ensure that communities can easily use the data necessary to prioritize evidence-based actions and to strengthen the systems underlying the achievement of good health.”
NFI hosts Girl Scout trucking event
Third-party logistics provider NFI Industries recently held a “Trucks are for Girls” event in Hagerstown, Maryland, utilizing the Girl Scout Transportation Patch program that was developed by the Women in Trucking Association (WIT). The event was designed to teach the Scouts about professional opportunities available to them in the future.
NFI operations employees spent the day teaching girls about how their favorite store products found their way to local shelves and how to drive a truck using the WIT safety simulator. The group also held a relay race mimicking pre-trip, loading, unloading and parking procedures.
At the end of the day, Girl Scout Troop #15011 received a supply chain activity book and a trucker doll named “Clare” from the nonprofit organization. The girls also earned their transportation badges.
“After hosting this event and feeling the impact firsthand to the girls, while getting positive feedback from the field, we are now providing resources to expand the program nationwide at our NFI facilities and [will] continue to educate the next generation of truck drivers,” said Alexa Branco, NFI senior operations support manager.
Since WIT first created the Girl Scout Transportation Patch curriculum in 2014, over 1,600 girls have completed the program.
Werner continues to help a military support nonprofit
Transportation and logistics company Werner Enterprises announced it is entering its fifth year in partnership with military support nonprofit Remember Everyone Deployed (RED).
The mission of RED is to work with its individual and corporate partners to support military veterans and their families through various services including wellness therapy, providing care packages and helping them transition from active service to civilian work.
For the past five years, Werner has assisted RED’s mission by encouraging its employees to participate in “RED Fridays”, where supporters wear red to recognize the sacrifices of veterans or those deployed in active duty. The transportation company makes RED shirts available to its employees through its online shop with the proceeds going to RED.
In addition, Werner has wrapped trucks to honor the group’s initiatives and spread awareness of its cause through its veteran-hiring initiative, Operation Freedom, which is the industry’s first truck driver apprenticeship program approved by the Department of Labor and Veteran Affairs.
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Have a transportation-related human-interest story to share?
If so, please contact me at gsharkey@freightwaves.com.
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