Gem Plumbing & Heating, Lincoln, R.I., sponsored the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation’s inaugural Flames of Hope late last year. Nearly 200 torchbearers lit the night while Rhode Island Gov.Don Carcieri, along with Providence MayorDavid Ciccillineand Sen.Lincoln Chafee, lit the Rhode Island state house in pink just before the first torch was lit.
An estimated 60,000 people attended the first Flames of Hope. The Gemma family established the foundation in memory of their mother, who died from breast cancer.