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Putnam County Propane Company Supports Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign with Pink Trucks
Real men drive pink trucks. At least they do at Paraco Gas Corporation, a local company in Brewster that provides propane to thousands of residential, commercial and wholesale customers in towns and municipalities throughout the Putnam County region. Not only are the company's drivers on board with the pink paint makeover of their propane delivery trucks, they can't wait to get them on the road for a good cause.
To coincide with Mother's Day, Paraco Gas will roll out its pink-painted trucks, launching a year-long breast cancer awareness and prevention campaign that will include helping fund a program that makes screening available to people with little or no medical insurance. For the next 12 months, Paraco will donate to the American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF) a portion of the proceeds from every gallon of propane delivered by the five trucks in its fleet that received the pinkpaint makeover.
The proceeds will be earmarked for ABCF's "Key to Life" breast cancer screening assistance program, which provides financial support to people who cannot afford potential life-saving medical intervention, such as clinical breast exams, screening and diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds, surgical consultations and biopsies.
Paraco's pink trucks will eventually be rotated into each of the company's service regions at some point within the 12-month campaign, according to Roberts, who oversees Paraco operations at the Brewster facility. Paraco's participation in the "Key to Life" program is part of ABCF's national effort among the private sector to increase breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection. "This is like having a billboard on wheels. With the mileage our delivery trucks cover, we have the potential of reaching tens of thousands of people a day," Roberts said.
As for the timing of the campaign's launch, he added, "What better month than May, when we commemorate Mother's Day, to launch a longterm effort that will raise awareness and resources for a program that saves the lives of mothers, grandmothers, spouses, sisters, aunts and other female family members, friends and co-workers."
Phyllis Wolf, founding president of ABCF, said breast cancer education and awareness, coupled with early detection, is central to saving lives. "The campaign by Paraco Gas will assist ABCF in providing access to vital screening and testing for un-insured and underinsured people," said Wolf, who added, "Paraco Gas will help us reach people who would otherwise not have the financial means for a mammogram and other medical tests."
Mammography can detect breast cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages up to two years before a person or their doctor can detect it. Mike Gioffre, vice president of sales and marketing at Paraco, said the centerpiece of this campaign is the dramatic makeover of five propane delivery trucks. Portions of the exterior surface of the trucks have been re-painted pink, and a pink ribbon, the national symbol for remembering breast cancer victims, has been incorporated into the company's eight-foot wide/ four-foot-high logo that appears on the trucks. "If it turns heads and gets women, and men, to take the next step of scheduling breast cancer screenings, we can feel good that Paraco Gas is making a difference. As a family owned and operated business for nearly 40 years, we understand the importance of giving back to the community we serve," Gioffre said. Roberts said he is hopeful that the visibility created by Paraco will stimulate meaningful participation in breast cancer awareness by other local businesses throughout Putnam County.
Clearly, breast cancer is a disease that predominantly afflicts women. But men are not immune from breast cancer, as nearly 2,000 cases of breast cancer in men are diagnosed annually. One million women do not know they have breast cancer, which is why screening and early detection is important. In addition, 1 out of 8 American women will get breast cancer, with 40% succumbing within 10 years. The ABCF recommends a clinical breast exam every three years for women between the ages of 20-39. For women 40 and older, it recommends a mammogram and clinical breast exam once annually. For more information, go to the Paraco Gas Web Site, paracogas.com, which has a link to ABCF and its programs.
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