Pink Heals: A Firefighter Homage to Women

The Pink Heals Tour raises awareness of the illnesses that afflict women.

Arizona-based Pink Heals and their pink firetrucks rolled into St. Luke's Anderson Campus on a late Summer Saturday to raise money for the Cancer Center. In addition to firetrucks galore, there was food, T-Shirt sales, artwork, balloons, face-painting by Dazzleberry, and of course, the cha cha slide. "Every time you stomp to the left or stomp to the right, you're helping stomp out cancer," a DJ told the enthusiastic kids.

Firefighter Bill Andress plans a local Pink Heals Chapter

The next day, Pink Heals was in Nazareth, this time to raise money for people to register for bone marrow transplants.

All money raised by Pink Heals goes directly to some organization that helps women, not to any volunteer firefighting company. Nancy Run Firefighter and Safety Officer Bill Andress, who with his wife will soon form a Pink Heals Chapter here in the Lehigh Valley explained. "Women are the foundation of everything," he stated. "It's not just breast cancer, but all illnesses that affect our women." In Nazareth, for example, the pink firetrucks topped to help raise money for bone marrow registrations.

The Pink HealsTours, which itself is a group of volunteers founded by Dave Graybill, left the Lehigh Valley for Rhode Island. From there, they will slowly go South, finishing in Bayton, TX in early November. Over five years, they have enlisted the support of approximately 4,000 communities.

Their trip to the Lehigh Valley also included fundraising at Applebees along Rte 191 and at The Keystone Pub.

Kelly sisters Paige (age 5), Faith (age 6) and Alexus (age 8) are used to firetrucks. Their Mom is a volunteer in Fremansburg 

Matias Vasquez, age 6, gets a balloon from Bandaid the Clown

Remik sisters Olivia, age 5, and Addy, age 3, love their makeup

The silver ribbon signifies disabilities and ovarian cancer,