By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer
A new ambulance has been added to Ambulance, Inc. of Laurel County’s stable — and it’s pink.
The ambulance is intended to show the company and its personnel’s support of finding a cure for cancer.
The white and mostly pink vehicle is intended to not only show support, but to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
Every time the vehicle is on a call, the ambulance service will donate $2 to the cancer society.
Ambulance service chief Jimmy Bridges said Thursday it will be used in the rotation of the 13 ambulances used by the service on its nearly 9,000 annual ambulance runs.
Susan Carpenter, vice-president of the company, said the staff decided to paint the next ambulance pink last summer. The idea came because a staff member’s sister had died of breast cancer a few years ago, and in October, another staff member was diagnosed with the disease.
Carpenter said pink was chosen as an attention-grabbing color, but the vehicle is designed to raise awareness of all types of cancer. Eight multi-colored ribbons on the side of the vehicle denote the top killers — colon, lung, prostate, melanoma, leukemia, pancreatic, ovarian and all cancers, she said.
On the side of the vehicle is painted the slogan, “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
Ambulance Inc.’s staff of 49 is divided into three crews who are on duty 24 hours and another crew on duty from 8 a.m. to midnight.
The company was founded in 1977.
