Trucker Buddy and his wife deliver good will to inner city school

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READING, Pa. — When Scott Sexton delivered Trucker Buddy log books to the Grade 4 students in the inner-city classroom with which he was matched, it was just the beginning of an educational experience the students would never forget.

Sexton is one of those special Trucker Buddies who go above and beyond the requirements of the program; and to recognize the efforts of Sexton and his wife, Lisa, he was named the ACS MultiMedia Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month for March 2007.

Trucker Buddy is an educational program that is driven by professional drivers who volunteer their time to supplement elementary schoolchildren’s education in geography, mathematics, language and other curriculum through a pen-pal relationship.

When Sexton arrived for his class visit in Pennsylvania last October, some of the children didn’t have coats to wear to ward off the brisk cool morning that time of year brings to the northern US. This troubled him, so he called his wife, who started seeking donations from family, friends and businesses in Greenville, S.C., where the couple lives.

Since Lisa has a cousin who teaches in the same school, she kept calling her to see what other needs the school had.

“In early December, Scott and Lisa drove their own truck and a rented U-Haul up to Pennsylvania filled with clothing, school supplies, playground equipment, water and an assortment of other items,” said Peggy Columbus, a teacher at Amanda E. Stout Elementary School in Reading, Pa. “Because he is ‘our’ Trucker Buddy, my class got the first pick of things, but there was enough for every teacher in the building to come and take supplies they needed, plus each got an extra two packs of copy paper, which around here is gold.”

Since the extra supplies included clothing ranging in sizes from infant to adult, the home/school coordinator at Amanda E. Stout Elementary brought in needy families to take what they needed.

During a faculty meeting the afternoon of the Sextons’ visit, the teachers were so grateful they were inspired to take a collection to help with the couple’s out-of-pocket expenses.

“I have since found out that instead of using that money to cover their costs, they are using it to buy things for their trip back to us in the spring,” Columbus related. “Thank you just doesn’t seem to be a big enough word for all that Scott has done for my class.”

Sexton is an owner/operator leased to 2nd Chance Transport, Piedmont, S.C. He also volunteers as a Trucker Buddy for fourth and fifth grade students at Mechanicsville Elementary School in Sykesville, Md. He joined the Trucker Buddy program in 2005.

Sexton is among some 3,500 other professional drivers who share their time with elementary classes throughout the world. The only criteria to be a Trucker Buddy is to be a professional truck driver with a CDL who is willing to send a postcard each week to a class in grades two through eight.

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