Firemen wear pink in October
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on October 26, 2016 10:13 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
A portion of the Goldsboro Fire Department and Emma Mitchell, 12, second from right, pose for a photo around Emma's father Shawn's pink semi wearing this year's breast cancer awareness fundraiser shirts. The truck is painted pink and has been signed by people who have been impacted by cancer.
Even firemen wear pink.
The Goldsboro Fire Department has proudly worn the fourth edition of pink shirts for the month of October -- to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
"Fighting more than just fires" is printed on the back of the shirts, and the cause's organizer, Ricky Barnes, couldn't be more proud to wear the color.
Barnes, who is a 29-year driver for the fire department, watched his father, J.P. Barnes, pass away from cancer in 1978, and it left him thinking about others who suffer from the horrible pain.
He met with fellow driver David Grice seven years ago, and they put their heads together to design something that would raise money for breast cancer.
"Everybody, even if you're not affected by it, you know somebody that is," Barnes said. "It may not be breast cancer, but it's some cancer of some kind."
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Barnes said the shirts cost $20, and he said the fire department donates the money to Southeastern Medical Oncology Center in Goldsboro. Barnes' Facebook page has been the main source behind selling the shirts.
He said they have raised $1,000 so far this month.
Firemen can only wear the shirts at work this month, but Barnes said they will continue to donate money from the designed shirts until the first of December.
Not only do the proceeds from the sale of the shirts go to benefit those in need, but so does their production.
Life, Inc. in Goldsboro gives adults with disabilities a chance to design the shirts through Life's Special Tees, and Barnes said they get paid for their work. He said the shirt-designing process allows individuals at Life, Inc. to work on eye-hand coordination.
"We buy these shirts, and we know where the money's going," Barnes said. "We have a lot of people that buy shirts that tell us, 'I survived breast cancer, that's why I'm buying it.'"
Barnes said the firemen have no problem wearing a pink shirt or driving a pink fire truck.
Pink fire trucks can be seen around Goldsboro, and names of family members who have passed away from cancer can be spotted on the trucks as well.
"As firefighters, we never know when it might be one of our wives or family members affected by breast cancer or some other cancer."