Make-A-Wish Convoy 2024

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Manheim Pennsylvania Auto Auction

*IF RETURNING TO MANHEIM:

*IF RETURNING TO MANHEIM:

A. Turn left on Esbenshade Road

A. Turn left on Esbenshade Road

B. Turn left on Strickler Road

B. Turn left on Strickler Road

C. Turn right on Mount Joy Road/772

C. Turn right on Mount Joy Road/772

… Backtrack remaining route to Manheim and enter via Kennedy Court/Power Road

… Backtrack remaining route to Manheim and enter via Kennedy Court/Power Road

...Do not use South Esbenshade Road to return back

*IF DEPARTING AFTER CONVOY (trucks do not need to return unless specified):

*IF DEPARTING AFTER CONVOY (trucks do not need to return unless specified):

I. 283 West: turn left on Esbenshade Road and take ramp to left onto 283 West

I. 283 West: turn left on Esbenshade Road and take ramp to left onto 283 West

II. 283 East: do NOT turn on Esbenshade, continue straight through light onto 283 East

II. 283 East: do NOT turn on Esbenshade, continue straight through light onto 283 East

Schedule of Events

April 29 - May 12

Online Silent Auction featuring a variety of items including wish kid art. Auction will end at 12 Noon on convoy day with an opportunity to pick up items from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. Learn more at www.wishconvoy.org.

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Manheim Pennsylvania Auto Auction 1190 Lancaster Road Manheim, PA 17545

6:00 - 10:30 am

Parking and Driver Registration

Breakfast available for purchase

Drivers may register the day of, however, advance registration is encouraged at www.wishconvoy.org.

8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Basket Raffle

Purchase tickets for a chance to win amazing baskets filled with gift cards, merchandise, experiences, and more.

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Wish Family Registration

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Convoy Family Carnival (food trucks, take-out meals, games, costume characters, and more)

11:00 am – 1 :00 pm

Mother’s Day Chicken Dinner

Drive Thru

$15 per dinner (Cash or Credit Card) Drive-thru at Manheim PA Auto Auction, follow signage

12:00 pm

Remarks and Wish Angel

Remembrance

Special remarks in honor of the 35th Anniversary

1:30 pm

Official Convoy Kick-Off and Departure

3:00 pm

Carnival and Convoy concludes

Who Are Our Top 30 and Grand Drivers?

Each year, the first 30 trucks that kick off the 26-mile Convoy consists of the 30 drivers that raised the most money in the previous year’s Convoy. This tradition of celebrating the Top 30 fundraisers at the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy began very early in the event’s history. Since then, this special group of men and women have raised millions of dollars for our mission.

Up until 2017, raising $1,000 was enough to qualify for the Top 30. Once raising “a grand” no longer guaranteed a Top 30 spot, we created the Grand Driver designation. Every driver that raises $1,000+ but does not qualify in the Top 30 earns the Grand Driver title.

Congratulations and thank you to our Top 30 and Grand Drivers! This group of individuals receive special recognition leading up to the Convoy, at the Convoy and at a post celebration event in September.

How to Get Involved in the Convoy

Interested in joining the fun? There are plenty of ways to get involved with the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy! To register to drive or to make a life-changing gift to Make-A-Wish, please visit wishconvoy.org or scan the QR code.

Have questions about the event or interested in volunteering?

Email us at convoy@philadesv.wish.org

Celebrating 35 Years of the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy

The idea of the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy was born 35 years ago, and it all began with Wish Kid Matt Strawser. Matt was fascinated with big rig trucks, so it was no surprise when he wished to ride in a big rig and talk to his sister Heather on the CB radio.

This year as we celebrate

1990’s Convoy

the 35th Anniversary of the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy we look back on the last 34 years. Since 1990 over 11,821 trucks have driven in the Convoy and over $9.2 million has been raised. This means that the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy has helped to grant over 920 wishes for children in the Susquehanna Valley over the last 34 years!

In 1990, Ken Laukhuff, Make-A-Wish board member and president of Teamsters local #771 at the time, decided to take on Matt’s wish. He reached out to multiple companies with the same hopeful request – to see if they would be willing to donate both a truck and driver who could give Matt a ride. The idea was wellreceived, however each company explained that they would have to look into both the insurance and compliance of the delicate situation. Not

1990 Mark Buckwalter Truck in First Convoy

1990 Matthew Strawser

too long after, Ken heard back from everyone with the good news that they all wanted to participate and take a Wish Kid for a drive. With eight committed companies, the idea of the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy was officially put into action.

After an article inviting more trucking companies to participate was published in the local newspaper, the number of companies wanting to join in on the fun grew from 8 to 44. With that many trucks expected, all the Wish Kids in the Lancaster area were invited to ride in the trucks as well. The date for the first Convoy was set for Mother’s Day that year, May 13, 1990.

Back then, the shops in the Lancaster Shopping Center were closed on Sundays, and they gave permission for the trucks to start and end the Convoy on their property. With the number of participants, volunteers and spectators expected that day, the next piece to figure out was food and bev -

erages. Thankfully, local companies were willing and able to donate what they could, such as orange drink from Pensupreme Dairies, hot dogs from Kunzler, charcoal from Miller & Hartman, pretzels from Anderson Bakery and rolls, ice, bags from Aument’s IGA in addition to the chicken bar-b-que they lent for the day.

Everyone contributed their

time and expertise to make sure the event would go over well. State Police provided an escort while volunteers took care of the stands. One of the Wish Kids was unable to get up into a truck cab, so a State Trooper gave him and his mother a ride in the back of the cruiser complete with a hookup to his CB radio. J.C. Hale, the founder of MakeA-Wish Lancaster, and his wife Carole attended their niece’s wedding the day before, which included a large tent rental. The tent needed to be returned on Monday, making it the perfect concession set up for the Convoy the very next day. All the small details that day came together perfectly,

2011 Truck with Antique Car Leaving Burle

2015 Big K Spectators

and the first Convoy was able to raise $8,000! Everyone’s experiences from the day helped make the obvious decision that the Convoy should become an annual event.

The next year, J.C. Hale worked with Burle Industries to host the Convoy in their spacious parking lot. 170 trucks joined the fun and helped to raise $32,000. The third annual convoy in 1992 helped establish the official event set-up that would be used throughout the following years – tents for concessions and registration, an auction, live music and games were included as entertainment for the wish families and community to get involved with. Convoy Clowns were introduced to collect donations and spread joy throughout the day. That year, 226 trucks participated and $50,000 was raised to help grant life-changing wishes.

As the Convoy’s success increased each year, so did the number of wishes the chapter was granting. To help this cause, J.C. Hale wanted to expand Convoy outreach to a national level, and then-Executive Director Anne Rickert decided to contact a national trucking magazine to provide coverage for the event. While it took some convincing to attend, the

photo journalist knew within an hour of being at the Convoy that she would return and committed to joining again the next year. Hale’s decision to increase outreach was a pivotal moment in the success of the growth of the Convoy. It increased financial support and driver participation as well as exposure to the communities Make-A-Wish served, which increased the number of people who attended the event.

J. C. and Carole Hale retired as President and Vice President/Secretary in March of 1996, which was the tenth anniversary of the founding of Make-A-Wish Lancaster. That year, trucks from all over the country joined the Convoy. Sixty Wish Kids were given the opportunity to ride with drivers, and $130,000 was raised – a record at the time. The Convoy received more and more national attention each year, begging the question if it was possible to set a Guinness World Record. Up until 2003, the longest truck convoy in the Guinness Book of World Records was 95 trucks. As the second convoy had 170 trucks, it was obvious they’d be able to claim the title. With 288 trucks in 2003 and 391 the next year, they held the record until 2015 and reclaimed it again in 2016.

2018 Wish Kid

2016 Lancaster Newspaper World Record

Matt & Heather Strawser at the 20th Convoy in 2009

1990’s Convoy

The Convoy moved to Manheim Pennsylvania Auto Auction in 2020, but due to the pandemic Make-A-Wish was unable to hold the event. In 2021, the Convoy was limited to 100 trucks on the route. In 2022 the Convoy returned to its pre-pandemic ways with 277 drivers and the community coming together not only for the carnival but to watch the drivers throughout the route.

Last year the Mother’s Day Truck Convoy had a record year since moving to Manheim Pennsylvania Auto Auction.

395 trucks drove in the 26mile Convoy through Lancaster County and 50 wish kids rode along. Thanks to driver fundraising, corporate supporters, and the community we were able to raise $553,838, which is the second high total in the events history.

As the Convoy celebrates 35 years as a staple event in the community, your support has helped to grant wishes to children in the Susquehanna Valley. What started as a singular wish has now helped the wishes of hundreds of children come true over the years.

2004 Little girls waving

Meet Our 2024 Convoy Ambassadors

Anyah and Mila are Wish Kids who have been nominated to serve as our Convoy Ambassadors! As Convoy Ambassadors, they will share their story and inspire our drivers to raise funds so that other children can have their life-changing wishes granted. On the day of Convoy Anyah and Mila will give the start signal for the Convoy to begin!

Name: Anyah

Age: 9

Diagnosis: Cancer

Hometown: Lancaster, PA

Anyah’s Wish: I wish to go to Walt Disney World

Name: Mila

Age: 16

Diagnosis: Cancer

Hometown: Ephrata, PA

Mila’s Wish: I wish to go to Hawaii

Celebrate World Wish Month with Us and become a WishMaker!

Join us this April as we celebrate World Wish Month. During the month we will be celebrating the mission of Make-A-Wish throughout the country. This year, we are rallying WishMakers to raise their hand and take action for wish kids. Everyone has the power to make wishes come true, making everyone a WishMaker.

Make-A-Wish all started with 7-year-old Chris Greicius. While battling leukemia, Chris wished to be a police officer, but little did he know what this wish would create and how many lives it would transform. On April 29, 1980, Chris’ community in Phoenix came together to make his wish come true. Not only did this experience create hope and joy for all those who witnessed it, but it created a movement aimed to restore hope for children and families when they need it most. Not long after his wish was granted, a team of individuals joined together and created what is now Make-A-wish.

Now more than ever, wishes can bring hope, joy and a sense of normalcy back into the lives of wish kids and their families, and you can help make these life-changing wishes come true.

“It’s been more than 30 years since my son Chris received his wish, and I am still amazed and inspired how one little boy’s dream to be a policeman has touched the lives of so many.” - Linda Pauling, Chris Greicius’ mother & Make-A-Wish cofounder.

During April we recognize the 40+ years of granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses, and the anniversary of the wish that inspired the creation of Make-A-Wish.

We hope that you will join us this World Wish Month and become a WishMaker. Start a fundraiser to go toward your Convoy fundraising efforts, post to social media, or wear a blue shirt. Raising funds and bringing awareness to Make-A-Wish is all that Linda Pauling can ask for.

Volunteers Needed!

Volunteers are needed for the 35th Annual Mother’s Day Truck Convoy! Volunteer support is needed before, during and after the Convoy. A variety of volunteer opportunities are available from games, concessions, merchandise sales, parking, the chicken dinner and many more.

Scan the QR code to sign up and learn more by visiting wishconvoy.org or contacting teresafinch34@gmail.com

45 Years of standing with you through your thoughts that became dreams, your dreams that became wishes, and your wishes that became reality