Giving back is part of trucking culture, and one major carrier spent 2025 putting that belief into action in communities where its people live and work. Throughout the year, Landstar employees across the United States supported food banks, youth programs, schools, housing organizations, and health-related causes, contributing time, supplies, and funding to meet real local needs.
From feeding families and supporting foster children to building homes and organizing blood drives, the effort added up to thousands of meals, hundreds of donations, and countless volunteer hours.
Fighting food insecurity year-round
Helping address hunger remained a consistent focus. In Rockford, Illinois, current and retired Landstar employees regularly volunteer at Carpenter’s Place, a nonprofit homeless day center. Every three months, the organization hosts a free community lunch, with Landstar employees handling fundraising and food preparation.
Those efforts helped serve more than 400 guests with hot meals in 2025.
At Landstar’s Jacksonville headquarters, employees once again partnered with Feeding Northeast Florida for the company’s annual Thanksgiving food drive. Coordinated by Debbie Templeton and Alexis Williams, the effort expanded significantly this year. Through employee donations and support, Feeding Northeast Florida was able to provide 22,998 additional meals and collect 743 pounds of food. Altogether, Landstar generated 23,618 meals for the organization.
Supporting children and families during the holidays
Community involvement increased as the holiday season approached. For 35 years, employees at Landstar’s Jacksonville headquarters have partnered with the Child Guidance Center, which provides support services for children and families.
In 2025, employees donated more than 120 new bicycles and helmets, which organizer Sid Sutphin helped deliver before the holidays. Employees also fulfilled Christmas wish lists for 125 children at the center by donating gifts and monetary support, with coordination assistance from Kristin McNaron.
In Rockford, employees supported the Winnebago Boone County Foster Care Alliance Adopt an Angel program. Thanks to coordinated efforts led by Lori Bauch, 55 Christmas wish lists for foster children were granted. Donations included toys, winter clothing, and other essential items to help children in the foster system during the colder months.
Investing in education and community health
Landstar employees also focused on needs beyond the holiday season. School supply drives in Jacksonville and Rockford collected hundreds of folders, notebooks, crayons, and backpacks for students at Holiday Hill Elementary in Jacksonville and Riverdahl Elementary in Rockford.
Ongoing blood drives at both locations made an impact as well. Donations are estimated to have provided enough blood to help save more than 300 lives, reinforcing the year-round value of employee participation.
Helping build stable housing
Housing stability became another area of focus in 2025. Landstar partnered with Habitat for Humanity, an organization dedicated to building and repairing homes for families in need.
Employees from the Rockford service center volunteered to help construct a new single-family home in their community. Twenty employees took time away from their regular duties to support the build, marking the first home completed through this partnership.
The program is expected to continue through 2026, with future builds planned at both the Jacksonville and Rockford locations.
Raising awareness through community events
In addition to hands-on volunteering, Landstar employees participated in several corporate runs to raise funds and awareness for important causes. These included Relay For Life events with the American Cancer Society in Jacksonville and the BKS Partners Corporate Run 5K, also held in Jacksonville.
A reflection of trucking values
For drivers and industry professionals, community involvement often reflects the same values that matter on the road: reliability, teamwork, and showing up when it counts. Landstar’s 2025 outreach efforts highlight how those values extend beyond freight and into the neighborhoods that support the trucking industry every day.
Source: Truckers News
