The Merced union of International Association of FireFighters (IAFF) Local 1479 completed their annual Pink Tee Fundraiser, and were able to donate $22,450 to the Mercy/UC Davis Cancer Center.
The Pink Tee Fundraiser has sold breast cancer awareness t-shirts to the local community for over 10 years. One-hundred percent of the proceeds stay local to support cancer patients. “We want as much money to stay local as we can,” said Ryan Paskin, Captain of Station 52 and IAFF executive board member.
The fundraiser has seen great success over the years through using social media and building relationships with local businesses to sell the shirts in their stores. “We organize it, but it’s really a commitment from our entire community,” Paskin said.
Austin Johnson, local firefighter and one of the Pink Tee organizers, shared that 1,400 t-shirts were sold. “I love seeing the excitement from the community around this fundraiser–if it wasn’t for their annual support we couldn’t make the difference we do at the cancer center,” Johnson said.
A check was presented on December 6 for $22,450 to Dr. Parminder Sidhu and Dr. Pushpinderdeep Kahlon from the Mercy/UC Davis Cancer Center. In addition to receiving the check, the cancer center team was able to show IAFF Local 1479 equipment that’s been purchased previously with their donations. “It was really great to see the impact in person,” Johnson said.