On March 15th of 2017, I will sit in a chair in the gym of my old junior high school and have my head shaved.
My friends and family were confused when I announced this plan. Looking at my long blonde locks, they all asked, "...Why??"
I will be shaving my head in honor of St. Baldrick's Day.
St. Baldrick's Day is an event that was conceived back in 1999, when three friends embarked on a challenge. One of these men, Tim Kenny, asked his friends John Bender and Enda McDonnell, "How will you give back in return for your own good fortune in business?" John had a bright idea; that the three of them could shave their heads to raise funds for children with cancer.
The first celebration of St. Baldrick's Day took place during a St. Patrick's Day party at a pub in New York City. This inaugural event blew their original goals out of the water, raising $104,000 dollars that was donated to the Children's Oncology Group. After this great success, they knew that they had to keep this crazy idea rolling. After 2002, their efforts, and the efforts of the wonderful shavees and volunteers that took part raised their first million dollars.
In 2004, the St. Baldrick's Foundation was officially founded, and their priorities were set. The independent foundation would spend as little as possible to raise their funds, making sure that as much as possible would go to finding a cure for children fighting cancer.
Since 2005, the St. Baldrick's Foundation has donated over 200 million dollars in grants to fund childhood cancer research. They have hosted summits, bringing some of the greatest minds in the U.S. together to set new goals and priorities in the journey to curing children's cancer. They have also granted their Summer Fellow awards to medical school and college students, allowing them to spend a summer working with cancer research and bringing so many bright, fresh, young minds into the team to fight in the good fight.
And it all started because a few guys decided to shave their heads.
This is why I will be shaving my head too.
Worldwide, a child is diagnosed with cancer every 2 minutes, and cancer in kids behaves differently than it does in adults. Therefore, it must be treated differently. Also, many of the cancer treatments used with full-grown adults can have extremely damaging effects on the developing body of a child or adolescent. These facts make it crucial to invest extra care into developing treatments that are made specifically for kids diagnosed with cancer.
This is why The St. Baldrick's Foundation exists, and this is why I have decided to help.
If these facts inspire you to do something about children's cancers, you should join in the fight too!
There are so many ways that you can contribute to the amazing work that The St. Baldrick's Foundation is doing. On their website, you can sign up to be a shavee, and have your head shaved with me in order to raise money. You can volunteer your time to help run an event, or organize your own head-shaving party. Or, you can "Do What You Want," and create your own unique fundraiser for the cause.
Most importantly, you can donate to the foundation online in a matter of minutes. You can give as little as a dollar, or as much as you can possibly afford, and know that whatever you give will save lives.
My personal fundraising goal is $2,000. If you would like to contribute to this goal, you can find this writer's very own page on the St. Baldrick's site and make your donation there.
If you can't shave your head or donate right now, that's okay! You can still be a hero by simply advocating for the cause. Go St. Baldrick's official site, read up, and start spreading the word! Tell your friends and family the facts about kid's cancer and why they should do something about it. Share the link to St. Baldrick's official page on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or whatever other place you can think of. Get enthusiastic about fundraising and other people will be inspired.
So what are you waiting for? There's a role for everyone in ending children's cancer. Decide which role suits you best, and get on it! We can see an end to children's cancer in our lifetimes. Take action today. Go bald for a cause!
*all facts and figures on children's cancer and the history of the St. Baldrick's Foundation were sourced directly from https://www.stbaldricks.org/
