TORONTO, Ont. — The OTA Education Foundation’s 2010 Double-Up Donation Challenge has been extended by two weeks to July 16. Under the challenge, donations made to the Foundation’s scholarship program that are received before the deadline will be matched – up to $40,000 in total – by a generous supporter with ties to the trucking industry.

“We are well on our way towards reaching our goal, and we’re hoping that the additional two weeks will see industry step up so that we can fully capitalize on this exciting  opportunity, ” says Foundation chairman Scott Smith who is also president of J. D. Smith and Sons. “We’ve had a tremendous response from the industry this year, and it’s been great to see donations coming from companies that are new to the Foundation along with donations from our core supporters.”

Smith also noted that 100% of donations raised are used to fund scholarships offered exclusively to students of parents who work in trucking. Scholarship applications are sponsored by the companies that the parents work for.

“Cavalier has been a strong supporter of the Foundation and its scholarship program for a long time – I’m guessing more than 20 years,” noted George Ledson, a Foundation director and president of Cavalier Transportation Services. “Several children of our employees and owner/operators have applied for and received scholarships, and we always make sure that all of our workers know about this unique scholarship opportunity. This is our industry’s Foundation, and I feel that it is important that industry supports it each and every year.”

Donation forms can be downloaded at www.ontruck.org/educationfoundation.