Victoria Advocate
VICTORIA, Texas — Debbie — Victoria’s pink firetruck — is back on the road just in time to celebrate National Pink Heals Day.
The truck was involved in a wreck Oct. 14 when the driver veered off the road to avoid crashing into another vehicle. The truck then turned on its side, breaking a window and damaging the body of the firetruck.
National Pink Heals Day is observed Saturday, but the truck and firefighters will begin the party Thursday.
The repaired truck will appear Thursday at the Aquatics Center in support of Victoria East and West swim teams. The teams are raising money to donate to faculty members with cancer by selling their “Breaststroke 4 Hope” T-shirts.
The pink trucks in various cities nationwide are part of the Guardians of the Ribbon Inc., a nonprofit movement that teaches communities how to raise money to help cancer patients.
What the students are doing is a perfect example of what the organization stands for, said Wendell Geigle, Victoria chapter coordinator and firefighter.
Because the mission of the Guardians of the Ribbon is to help others learn how to raise funds, the pink trucks do not accept donations, and selling T-shirts is how they support their tours.
Geigle said the Victoria chapter is hoping to send Debbie on a tour to help educate towns across the United States about raising money and keeping it in their community.
However, because of the wreck, the truck needs new tires. If they cannot replace them by Nov. 14, they won’t be able to go on the tour.
Geigle said the organization is open to accepting donated tires, which run about $400 a piece, or - if available - they will use funds raised by the T-shirt sales.
On Friday, the truck will be at the Victoria East High School home game, where firefighters will sell T-shirts.
Saturday’s events will focus on the women in the community battling cancer. The day for the pink truck begins at a donation ceremony at Ashley Furniture.
Every year, the furniture store teams up with DeTar Healthcare System to raise breast cancer awareness.
The store raised $2,400 at an event last weekend and will be awarding three $800 checks to women in the community battling cancer.
Last year, an employee at the furniture store was diagnosed with breast cancer, and owner Paige Streiss said that really hit home.
“That is really a reminder of how important it is to keep the money locally, so we can actually help an individual,” she said about the store’s continued partnership with Pink Heals.
The truck will finish the day making visits to homes of people in the Crossroads battling cancer. Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake Pizza will give the firefighters a raised donation to give to other woman in the community with cancer.
“We just want to go liven their spirits,” Geigle said, stating that the pink fire truck will go as far as she can.
Quoting a friend, he said, “This reminds me of people who are fighting cancer. Even though they are down, they get up and keep going just like the truck will be.”
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