We are pleased to announce that yet again this year we will be supporting the drivers own charity The Professional Drivers Foundation All funds raised at the charity night will go directly to helping drivers.
What can we say…it is so much more than we expected for TrucknetUK to support us for a second year on the trot 
We were able to pay out more than ever before in 2012 to drivers needing help, but that is entirely thanks to you guys raising so much for the PDF last year and rest assured, all the recipients were made aware of the wonderful support we have had from you all right from the very start.
It will be great to meet you all again and we will be there to witness this unique auction, parts of which we found hard to believe last year 
I have only just got home and this is the first time I have seen this post so I will go and tell the good news to everyone
Thank you so much to all who do the organising, who supply the budget and not least all who buy those things they never knew the wanted…we love you all!!!
Pat
Thought you may recognise some faces from Truckfestt 2000
Now who could that bright young thing in the front row be?
What can I say but many thanks, sup well and make sure you catch Rikki’s eye when the auction begins 
On second thoughts it doesn’t matter if you do, he’ll still accept your bid whether you made one or not.
Pat has said it all when it comes to passing on the money and the thank you letters we receive makes it all worth while.
You really are a great bunch of drivers for adopting us as your charity again this year . We will with your kind help be able to assist more drivers in 2013
None of us knows when we may need help but thanks to you we are a lifeline for those who do .
Thanks again and i hope you have a happy and prosperous evening.
eric the judge PDA Trustee
Due to the generosity of Trucknet members we, as trustees, feel you should know more about what we do and where your money goes. The problem with this is we also deal with our claimants in confidence. So, without wishing to breach that confidence, here is a rundown of some of the cases we dealt with in the past 12 months or so
A replacement washing machine for a Lancashire driver with 20 years on the road who’d suffered a heart attack. His wife was also ill and they were struggling with all the extra washing his condition was causing. £100
£150 to get a 40 year Norfolk drivers car back on the road so his wife could visit him in hospital after he suffered a stroke just before last Christmas. This we achieved in 13 hours from first contact for which his wife was very grateful as there was just no way of getting to the hospital. We later chipped in to tax the car for 6 months. Sadly the driver died in hospital a few weeks later but his wife was with him at the time.
£200 to the wife of a North East terminally ill cancer sufferer. This allowed her to have a small break away from all the turmoil
Advice offered to a stroke sufferer from Lancashire
Training costs for a young London lad with disabled mother so he could start earning. Thanks to priestleylgv.co.uk/ and the indomitable Les we were able to offer the course at discounted rates.
Our friends at novadata.co.uk/ offered us a place on one of their five day CPC courses for a suitable candidate as part of their on-going generous sponsorship. We just had to pick up the hotel bill which, thanks to the kindness of the manager and staff at the Hampton Hotel Braintree, was charged at a discounted rate
£500 Covered the cost of a computer course for heart problem sufferer from Norfolk. Thanks to robustittraining.com/ for waiving the VAT. This enabled him to retrain for other work after losing his C+E entitlement.
£1000 for house alterations to allow a seriously injured Yorkshire driver to sleep in a bed again rather than an armchair. Whilst dealing with this problem he also has a daughter with MS. Our donation kick started the council into giving the go ahead to the Home improvement Agency to start the alterations.
£150 living expenses for ex Iraq soldier injured by an IED now working as a lorry driver but off work due to an accident in the yard that ’nobody’ saw. This case came to us via SSAFA who due to a few administration difficulties had sat on it for 6 weeks or more. Hence the claimant’s circumstances had changed somewhat but after discussing this with him we quickly came to the conclusion we could offer some help. This we did within a couple of days from first making actual contact.
From the South West another stroke suffer who was battling against the inefficiencies of the DVLA to renew his licence, Living out in the sticks there was no public transport to get him to the hospital for tests or to work, he’s currently looking for van driving jobs via the agency. After 12 months on SSP this was coming to an end and although he and his wife had been making do and mending for the past year any reduction would leave them worse off. £200 for car tax and a little petrol money so he could get out and help himself out of these current difficulties.
Totalling it all up we’ve paid out over £2500 within this period.
We also declined requests for various amounts up to £5000 as we felt they fell outside out remit.
We try to step in where help is urgently needed and thanks to our decision making system we can move quickly. I think our current record is 13 hours from request to payment. We prefer to help where we can make a difference or solve the problem. The thank you letters we receive are what make it all worthwhile. Most, obviously, are grateful for our help but many are amazed that there is an organisation willing to listen and give immediate and constructive help. They are even more touched and amazed to learn that almost all the funds we allocate has been raised by fellow lorry drivers, and of that we should all be very proud.
The PDF Trustees