By KEVIN MURRAY
Martinez News-Gazette Contributor
The Pink Heals National Tour brings pink fire trucks and police cars to communities around the country, to small communities as well as large metropolitan areas.
Bright pink firetruck turn heads and drive awareness and community support for those battling all types of cancer.
The founder is Arizona firefighter, Dave Graybill. He said, “When pink fire trucks roll into town, the community typically thinks it’s all about cancer….” But he explains, “That’s not the case at all… women are the glue to everything…this tour honors women — our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters.”
One of our local entrepreneurs and business owners, Cynthia Bilyeu, is bringing Pink Heals to Martinez with a special appearance including the pink vehicles from October 17 to 20. Cynthia took over Olde Towne Antiques and Mercantile (OTA) in 2017, and in 2018 she opened Junk 2 Gems a “ vintage, treasure emporium, pop up” on the second floor above OTA, open the third weekend a month (Thursday – Sunday).
Cynthia is a Bay Area native who has experienced the ravages of cancer among those close to her, recently losing her aunt to breast cancer, along with her mother and her brother to other cancers at early ages. She uses her health, success, and energy, in creative ways to give back in memory of her loved ones. As part of the Martinez community, she finds it so important to participate in Pink Heals to bring hope, faith and support to those in need.
Pink Heals is a global program that partners with public safety, local businesses, and families to bring communities together to make the art of giving personal again. It is a program that provides home visits to show people that they are loved, cherished, and important to others. Pink Heals brings back the human element of giving by celebrating people, not causes.
The organization operates by the sale of merchandise, gifts, local sponsorship, and in-kind donations to maintain their vehicles, buy gas, and travel across the country to visit people and share the program. When they run the National Tour, drivers volunteer up to 21 days at a time to drive pink fire trucks and police cars across America and deliver the Pink Heals Program directly to communities like ours.
The Pink Heals Tour will be stopping at OTA Mercantile and Junk2Gems, here in Martinez, on Saturday October 19. There will be a special vignette at the market done up in pink & white in honor of those affected by breast cancer with items donated by Junk2Gems in which all proceeds go to Pink Heals Tour. In addition, Junk2Gems will also be holding a raffle with those proceeds also going to this wonderful organization.
If you are a local merchant who would like to donate an item, service, or gift certificate for the raffle or sell raffle tickets at your place of business please call 925-370-8345 or email junk2gemsbyota@gmail.com.
