The Philadelphia Fire Department and PFD Family Association teamed up to raise more than $16,300 to fight cancer through their second annual T-shirt sale for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Proceeds were donated on Dec. 13 to Mercy Cancer Center, which will use the funds to provide breast cancer screenings to those in need.
“This is so meaningful to us,” said Susan Cusack, president of Mercy Fitzgerald and Mercy Philadelphia hospitals. “This funding from the Philadelphia Fire Department will allow us to aid those people who need it most by underwriting early detection, such as mammograms.”
This fall, the PFD sold nearly 1,800 gray-and-pink shirts to the public and members of the department. The shirts feature the PFD logo with a pink ribbon and the phrase “We Don’t Just Fight Fires, We Fight Cancer Too.” Members were allowed to wear the shirts as part of their uniform during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
The PFD has raised a total of almost $39,000 for Mercy since 2017.
“We hope people will help us continue to support this important mission,” said Fire Commissioner Adam K. Thiel. “We’re very pleased to make this donation.”
The shirts’ color combinations have changed each year. Capt. David Kearney, who designed the shirts and coordinated sales and delivery, has already chosen next year’s colors: Pink print on a midnight blue shirt.
“We are proud to partner with the Fire Department and Mercy Cancer Center on this life-saving initiative,” said PFD Family Association Executive Director Lisa Hogan. “Thank you to all who bought shirts — you truly are making a difference.”