WAUPACA, Wis. – Trucker Buddy International, a Wisconsin-based pen-pal program that links professional truck drivers with children in classrooms around the world, has extended its wide reach into the music industry.

Earlier this year, Trucker Buddy joined forces with recording artist/songwriter Joey Holiday to create a song to help promote the organization.

By October, “I want to be your Truck Buddy” was written, recorded and released for the public.

“I thought that there should be a song about this unique organization and was thrilled to be able to support the program in this way,” said Holiday, a Montgomery, Ala. native.

The song, though written in a style suited for kids, has lyrics to help give any interested listener some insight into how the program actually works.

They include: “I could send you postcards/We can have a blast/I can send you an e-mail/ right to your class/I could write you letters/hey, you pick which one/It’s all for education/and havin’ lot’s of fun.”

For kids, it’s a fun and interactive way for them to learn more about the program. Holiday even got kids involved in the actual recording process.

“When I went to record the song, I asked some of the children in my neighbourhood to come into the studio to help out,” he said.

“We all had a great time and hope everybody enjoys the finished product.”

Ellen Voie, executive director of Trucker Buddy, said she is pleased with the end results and hopes both Holiday and the program will benefit from the recording.

“Joey Holiday has always been a great supporter of Trucker Buddy,” said Voie.

“We’re planning to put it on our Web site. We’re selling it to drivers and teachers and we hope it will be a big hit. We hope the kids will like it.”

The CD single can be purchased through Trucker Buddy for $3 each, with all proceeds benefiting the non-profit organization.

In addition to the CD single, the song is also included on a compilation CD featuring trucker songs for kids called, “Tommy Tunes: Geared Up & Hammered Down!”

The CD was put together by Tommys World Entertainment, a company which, in addition to the music, boasts a Web site and upcoming animated DVD series devoted to kids with parents employed by the trucking industry.

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Trucker Buddy was also recently chosen by the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Safety and Loss Prevention Council as the charity of choice at the recent ATA Truck Driving Championships in Tampa, Fla.

Each year, the council selects a charity to help raise money for at the beginning of the driving championships. Trucker Buddy was selected this year and raised $744 through the sale of raffle tickets during the event, which the ATA matched for a total of nearly $1,500.

“It was great to be chosen because it gave us exposure to the drivers at the ATA Truck Driving Championships also,” Voie said. “These are some of the best truck drivers in the industry.”

Susan Chandler, executive director of the ATA Safety and Loss Prevention Council, said Trucker Buddy was the perfect group for the National Truck Driving Championships.

“In Tampa, we had the best-of-the-very best truck drivers, their companies and families supporting Trucker Buddy, an organization that sends such a positive message about trucking to school children who might very well be the next generation of potential truckers and champions. ATA was proud to assist,” she said.

Trucker Buddy International boasts more than 4,000 teacher-trucker matches, with schools involved reaching as far as Alaska, the U.K. and France.

For more information visit www.truckerbuddy.org.