Dave and Brittini Cape with the latest addition to Ferrellgas' delivery fleet outside the company's Salem office last week. (image: wjbdradio.com)
Ferrellgas, one of the country’s largest propane distributors, unveiled its ninth charity truck last week at the office in Salem, Illinois, WJBD radio reported. The new truck will fight blood cancers; one cent of every gallon of propane pumped from the vehicle throughout its lifetime will be donated to Illinois’ Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Ferrellgas spokesman Jim Saladin estimated that should amount to around $10,000 every year the truck is on the road.
The truck was dedicated in honor of longtime Ferrellgas driver Dave Cape, whose daughter Brittini has been battling leukemia since February. Cape said he’d discussed Brittini’s illness with his boss, Pete Todd, but was speechless when he accidentally found out about the new truck a month ago.
“I didn’t have a clue anything was going on,” Cape said. “They decided to build a truck because they had one for breast cancer and a few others and thought it would be a good idea to have one for leukemia.”
Ferrellgas’ other trucks campaign for causes ranging from breast cancer research to food pantry and coat drives, and this isn’t the first time they’ve rallied against blood diseases. The company’s Cells for Cells program collects old, unwanted cell phones donated from employees, customers, and business partners, then recycles, refurbishes and resells them. Raised funds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The company serves over a million propane customers with 650 locations nationwide.