Page 47 - ATR 6 2018 web

Finding a Forever Family

Trucking teams up with Project Zero to help Arkansas girl find her forever family

By ATR Staff

On Oct. 12, Project Zero, an
Arkansas nonprofit that promotes adop-
tion through the foster care system with
the ultimate goal of finding a forever
family for every child who is waiting,
found a partner in trucking.
One of the ways Project Zero links
waiting children to adoptive families
is by telling the stories through photos
and videos of the boys and girls.
When Mercedes, a 12 year-old
girl in the Arkansas foster system,
revealed that she wanted to be a truck
driver when she grew up, ATA President
Shannon Newton, who serves on
the Project Zero board of directors,
arranged for Mercedes to spend a day in
the business.
Project Zero invited a camera man
along to document Mercedes’ visit
to Stallion Transportation Group, in
Beebe, Ark., where she met the staff,
toured the offices and was greeted with
shirts and hats to show off her love of
trucking.
Garland Rice, of Stallion
Transportation Group, surprised
Mercedes with a truck that was person-
alized for the occasion with her name
on the door. Stallion driver Greg Kelley
invited her to climb in the cab for a
ride-a-long through town.
Mercedes, then, filmed a short
video about her life and shared her
wish: a family for Christmas. ATR

ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2018 47