June 23rd, 2010

Jasmine Jordan, 17, has run across America to raise awareness for St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund. She began in Los Angeles in September of 2009 and is close to arriving in New York. She is the youngest person ever to run across America.

Jordan had been training for the 2012 olympics when she decided to put her dream on hold and embark on her run across America. Her family owns a trucking company and she was inspired by one of their drivers, Sheila Grothe, who had cancer and eventually died. When Grothe passed away Jordan decided she would run to raise awareness.

Jordan writes on her website, “On that day I made a decision, that I will do something to change the system so people who don’t have medical coverage that will pay for treatments like Sheila needed will have options.”

When she passed through Washington D.C. recently several Department of Transportation employees ran with her. Ray LaHood, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, called her “A true American Hero.”

The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF) is a not-for-profit organization that provides financial assistance to professional truck drivers who have medical problems and can not otherwise afford healthcare. SCF also conducts health research to benefit professional drivers and the trucking industry.