FAQ

Are Donations Tax Deductible?

Yes. The St. Christopher Fund is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, which means that all donations made to the organization are tax deductible. You will receive an end of year tax letter showing all of your donations for the current year.

How Do I Make A Donation?

Mail a check to:

PO Box 30763
Knoxville, TN 37930

Click the ‘Donate Today!’ button on the top of the webpage to donate through PayPal/Stripe.

Call 865-202-9428

Who Can Apply For Assistance?

In order for a driver to be considered a candidate for financial support from the St. Christopher’s Fund, they must first meet certain criteria, listed below. After the criteria have been met, SCF may be able to assist drivers in a variety of capacities.

Hold a Class A commercial driver’s license (over-the-road semi-truck driver)
The primary source of income was (before a medical problem evolved) from driving a semi truck over-the-road
Must have a significant medical problem that led to financial difficulty.
*Medical information must be able to be confirmed by a review of medical records
**Must be able to provide proof of needing financial assistance
The medical problem occurred in the last 365 days, from the date of the application

Drivers that meet these criteria are eligible for assistance. Assistance is provided on a funds-available basis.

How Does The Process Work?

After receiving your completed application, questions will be sent to you based on your answers provided within the application, the medical release form is sent to your doctor to request records, the employment verification form is sent to the company you drive for.

Once the medical records have been received, your employment has been verified and all questions have been answered, then members of the Review Committee will review your application.

After a decision has been made, you will be contacted with approved assistance amount, what bills are eligible for payment, and how to submit your bills If you are approved for financial assistance, you will be asked to provide a copy of the bill(s) to which you want the money to go towards.

Payments are sent to companies directly. If bills are not received within 30 days of approval, drivers must reapply and are not guaranteed the same assistance amount.

How Long Does The Process Take?

The process is not quick, and it can take anywhere from a few days to a few months to process the application.

Delays are due to

an incomplete application
delays in receiving medical records
a lack of response from the applicant concerning questions
an inability to reach the applicant due to a call block on their phone (we sometimes have to call from private numbers) or lack of response via email.

Medical records are requested within 1 business day of receiving an application; however, many offices do not supply the records in a timely manner. We suggest that applicants call their doctor or hospital in advance, letting them know a release for medical records will be coming from the St. Christopher Fund, and ask that they send your records as soon as possible.

What Types of Assistance are Provided? What is not Covered?

Assistance is provided for essential expenses (rent/mortgage, utilities, vehicle payments, insurance, a very small portion of cell phone bills) while recovering from illness and out of work. Please note that, due to the high volume of drivers seeking assistance, we can only offer short-term help with a small portion of bills. Information is provided for how to negotiate medical bills.

We do not pay cable, internet, garbage, storage, furniture/appliance rental, HOA fees, child support, funeral expenses, motorcycle payments, credit card, pet care or medical bills or other bills deemed by the committee as unnecessary or excessive.

What about medical bills?

Unfortunately, most applicants’ medical bills greatly exceed our benefit amount. We will, however, send you information on how to negotiate your medical bills and get set up on a payment plan.

What is the Best Way to Reach You?

In order to ensure that the majority of our donations go towards applicants and not administrative costs, we have a very limited staff.

Email is the best way to communicate with us.

If you have internet access, please send us an email with any questions or concerns you may have. If you have applied and listed an email address on your application, please check your email every few days as this is the best way to communicate.

Many times, we will be giving you a lot of information and this is more easily done through email or a letter vs. a telephone call.

What's the SCF Overhead?

Our overhead expenses are 25%. That means that $0.75 of every dollar is available for driver assistance