Donors show support for ATSS Foundation on Giving Tuesday

Donors show support for ATSS Foundation on Giving Tuesday

Matching commitments provide strong kickoff for end-of-year giving

Four generous donors gave the ATSS Foundation a great start on Giving Tuesday, providing $22,500 in matching funds before additional donations came in throughout the day.

Foundation Board member Margaret “Peggy” McGrath and her husband Pat Terrio, committed to a $10,000 match, the Arizona ATSSA Chapter (AZ-ATSSA) provided a $7,500 match and Horizon Signal Technologies provided a $5,000 match, kicking things off for this annual day of global giving and quadrupling the impact of each donation.

“Those early commitments were a tremendous help in spurring donations on this day of worldwide generosity. It helped set the tone for another terrific display of support for the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation,” said Foundation Director Lori Diaz. “It is the commitment of our members and other donors that enables the Foundation to carry out the charitable programs we are passionate about and to continue raising awareness of the importance of roadway safety.

“Every donation, no matter the size, is critical to our mission.”

This year’s total for Giving Tuesday was $28,375 from 38 donors including the four commitments that kicked off the global day of generosity, Foundation Project Manager Brenda Flowers said.

Giving Tuesday, which is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, marks the start of end-of-year giving, a time when many individuals and companies enjoy sharing the financial success they have seen during the year. Many also appreciate the tax benefits, which come from donating to nonprofits such as the ATSS Foundation by Dec. 31.

Diaz said the Foundation carefully stewards the funds provided to it and noted some of the ways it has affected lives during the first 10 months of this year:

• Awarded nine Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships totaling $83,000 for the 2025-26 academic year to the dependents of men and women killed or permanently disabled in work zone incidents. The supplemental Chuck Bailey Memorial Scholarship for volunteerism remains an option for applicants. Since its start, the Foundation has awarded more than $660,000 in scholarships.
• Honored 20 new people by adding their names to the National Work Zone Memorial, bringing the total to  more than 1,650 names.
• The National Work Zone Memorial visited 30 locations, reaching more than 25,150 people. The traveling Memorial was viewed by more than 19,370 people and the digital version was viewed by more than 5,770 people.
• Awarded two Marty Weed Engineering Scholarships to newer public agency engineers from the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development (LaDOTD) and the Michigan DOT to attend ATSSA’s 2025 Convention & Traffic Expo.
• The award-winning children’s Work Zone Educational Activity Book was downloaded and distributed by the Foundation 8,318 times, with another 2,422 copies of printed books purchased. The activity book’s reach totaled 10,740 to help teach children the importance of work zone safety.
• The free National Work Zone Safe Teen Driver course was completed by 4,423 teens.
• Awarded seven monthly $500 Foundation-sponsored scholarships for the National Work Zone Safe Teen Driver program.

Donations are accepted throughout the year, can be set up to recur monthly, and can be designated for one of the programs above or through planned giving and workplace giving in addition to Giving Tuesday.

“Our desire is to finish the year strong,” Diaz said. “Needs continue to grow as we seek to support the families of roadway workers killed or permanently disabled in work zone incidents. We wish the need didn’t exist, but until that happens, we will continue working to provide as much support as possible.”