St. Baldrick’s Honored Kids are at the heart of everything we do. They’re the reason behind every event planned, head shaved, and dollar given.
While not every St. Baldrick’s event always has an Honored Family in attendance, we’ve long suspected that the ones that do have something extra special. So we asked some of our seasoned VEOs: What does it mean to have an Honored Family attend your St. Baldrick’s event?
Here’s what they had to say.
Honored Kids at a St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“Having Honored Families at our event is a bold sign to these precious families that they are not alone. It is a way to show them that we stand beside them to fight.”
— Jaime Lenhart, Canton, OH
“It makes it real. It reminds us why we are doing what we are doing and why it is such a great cause.”
— Melissa Grillo Mccue, Lawrenceville, NJ
“Having an Honored Family at our events makes it so much more personal. Everyone can donate to a good cause, but when you donate and have a face to go with it, it doesn’t come from the wallet, it comes from the heart!”
— Nikki Jastrom, Kenosha, WI
“Events are fun, but when you talk about statistics, it’s just an abstract thing. It’s easy to hear 2/3 of survivors will face serious complications, but until you have a family at the event who can say what that means, most people forget. When you have a family that can talk about learning disabilities, blindness, hospitalization, even secondary cancers, then it becomes real. It is the first time many people have seen the true consequences of childhood cancer.”
— Jessi Troester, Kansas City, MO
“We had multiple Honored Kids and their families at our event, and it was one of the most special times I’ve ever experienced. It shows that this is not just a place you can donate a few dollars, do your ‘good deed of the day,’ and be done with it — when you see the kids, it makes you want to work even harder for the cause and to find a cure.”
—Justin McLeod, Monroe, LA
So there you have it. St. Baldrick’s events are great, but Honored Families make them even better.
Want to invite an Honored Family to your local St. Baldrick’s event? Find an event and get in touch with the VEO.
Read stories about our Honored Kids:
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