Real (Fire)Men Wear Pink

Aside from the typical gear and uniform, members of the will be donning something a bit more unique this week. As part of the Pink Heals campaign, firefighters in North Kingstown will be wearing pink t-shirts while on duty.

The mission of Pink Heals is to support women in their fight against cancer and inspire men to get involved. For members of the North Kingstown Fire Department, the message hits close to home.

“My mother’s fighting breast cancer right now,” said David Shogren, member of NKFD, whose grandparents also battled cancer.

It’s the second year that the Pink Heals tour has stopped in the NKFD, according to North Kingstown Fire Fighters Association’s President Ray Furtado, whose father passed away 11 years ago after his fight with cancer.

The Rhode Island chapter of Pink Heals, which celebrated its first birthday last month, can be spotted around the state with its pink fire truck and matching pink police cars, named after local female cancer victims. The organization does flower deliveries, brunches, movie nights, spa days and more for women battling the disease, all free of charge.

According to Ted Dion, founder of Pink Heals Rhode Island, 100 percent of the proceeds raised by the organization (including fundraising efforts such as fire departments wearing pink t-shirts for a week) stay local. This year, proceeds will be given to the Women and Infants Patient Advocacy Program.

“People see us wearing pink and assume it’s for breast cancer,” said Dion. “Pink is the color of women. When you’re born, you’re either wrapped in pink or blue. We want to give pink back to women.”