Pink Truck Raises Money Year Round

Standard Oil, whose trucks have been delivering fuel to Fairfield County homes since 1913, painted one of its trucks "breast cancer pink" in a yearlong effort to raise awareness of the disease among local citizens. “Standard Oil has pledged $3 for every delivery made by The Pink Truck over the next 12 months," says Roy Friedman, president of Standard Oil, the largest family-owned fuel company in Connecticut.

Friedman expects to raise $20,000 over the next 12 months. The money will go to the Connecticut affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure whose focus is providing education on the importance of early detection, free screening services and support to those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Seventy-five percent of the proceeds from Standard Oil's campaign will be invested in local education, screening and treatment programs across Connecticut. The remaining 25 percent will go to national research for a cure for the disease, which strikes 12 percent of women in the U.S. Connecticut has the second highest incidence of breast cancer in the country.

“A woman might see the truck driving next to her on the highway and remember to schedule her annual mammogram, which could potentially save her life,” Komen Connecticut executive director, Anne Morris, says.

Standard Oil is a family success story. The Standard Coal and Charcoal Company, founded Roy Friedman's grandfather, Irving Freidman, delivered Jeddo-Highland coal from Pennsylvania in a horse and buggy. By 1945 heating oil had begun to overtake coal as a primary heating source, and the last coal delivery was made in 1984. In 1987, Standard Petroleum began distributing gasoline and diesel to gas stations. In 1992 Standard Oil created Standard Security Systems providing burglary protection to its customers. Today, the company includes Standard Insurance and Standard Electric.

"What makes The Pink Truck campaign unique," says David Kelly, marketing director at Standard Oil, "Is that while most breast cancer campaigns start and end in October, Standard Oil's will be actively promoting and raising funds throughout the year."

 

 

 

 

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