Don't be surprised to see firefighters, campus police and other officials wearing pink uniforms Thursday.
Firefighters from all over north central Florida along with UF police officers will wear pink to support women battling cancer as part of the Alachua County Pink Heals Initiative. The initiative will donate the proceeds to support local women battling cancer through UF's Southeastern Healthcare Foundation.
Kevin Rulapaugh, the coordinator of the initiative, said pink is the color traditionally associated with women, and the officials will wear it to show women they care and support them.
"Big, manly men on a fire truck wearing pink shirts goes to show there's power in wearing pink," he said.
University Police spokesman Capt. Jeff Holcomb said campus police have already raised more than $2,000 selling the pink T-shirts.
He said he hopes the officers wearing pink shirts will make people stop and say "What in the world?"
The free Pink Heals event will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday. Gainesville politicians will read a proclamation and give speeches at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza.
Then, police will escort attendees to Butler Plaza West, near Target. The main event, called "Celebration of Women," will begin there at 3 p.m.
There will be live music, radio stations, a LifeSouth blood mobile, health care booths and guest speakers from the UF Shands Cancer Center.
Gator Domino's and Sweet Dreams will sell pizza and ice cream and donate a portion of their proceeds to the foundation.
Pink Heals T-shirts and other merchandise will be sold to raise money.
Six pink fire trucks from the national Pink Heals tour will be there, and the tour's founder, Dave Graybill, will speak.
Graybill, a firefighter from Arizona, started the Pink Heals movement four years ago when the wife of one of his fellow firefighters was battling cancer.
With the city's support, he bought a fire truck from eBay, painted it pink and drove it around to raise money for breast cancer.
The movement has since grown, and every year firefighters dressed in pink, called the "Guardians of the Ribbon," drive across the country in pink fire trucks and raise money for local community charities.
Rulapaugh, a firefighter with Alachua County Fire Rescue, was at a conference when he saw a video about the tour. He turned to the president and said, "We've got to do this."
He said firefighters are part of a close-knit community.
"You're living with your crew every third day for 24 hours," he said. "Your crew becomes your family."
After Rulapaugh made some phone calls, Graybill agreed to bring the tour to Gainesville, and Alachua County Fire Rescue and the Gainesville Fire Rescue Department became the co-sponsors of the event.
Rulapaugh said 11 fire departments from four cities and five different unions were actively involved in planning the event.
Trying to cross the political barriers between the different fire departments and unions often is very difficult.
However, "everyone jumped on board without a struggle," he said.
Every department took charge of some part of the event, and no taxpayer money was used. The fire unions and firefighters themselves financed the event.
The goal for this year was to have every firefighter in Alachua County in pink.
Alachua County Fire Rescue bought 305 pink T-shirts and 18 polo shirts for its firefighters.
He said firefighters will also wear pink shirts on duty Oct. 25-27 as part of national Pink Heals week.
Rulapaugh plans to make Pink Heals an annual event and involve all the law enforcement and public safety agencies that would like to participate.
Donations can be made online at www.shandsgiving.org/pinkheals.
