Head-Shaving

Iowa Community’s Fundraising Efforts Earn Research Grant for Local Hospital

by Rebecca Bernot, St. Baldrick's Foundation
December 20, 2013

Blank Children’s Hospital receives a St. Baldrick’s infrastructure grant for the first time.

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Last year, something happened to Brian Lohse that experts say is much less likely than getting struck by lightning or eaten by a shark. He won the lottery.

And it wasn’t just any lottery — he and his wife, Mary, won the Iowa Powerball jackpot and walked away with $90.9 million, the largest cash payout in the history of their state lottery.

Instead of buying a NASCAR team or squandering it away in the casino, as some quasi-famous lottery winners have been known to do, the Lohses established a private foundation to divvy out a portion of their earnings to charity.

Having participated in St. Baldrick’s events as a shavee since 2010, St. Baldrick’s was an easy pick for a beneficiary, according to Brian. “My wife and I have three kids of our own, and the mission to help kids with cancer and to find a cure is something that I support fully,” he said.

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Frank Bigley getting his head shaved at the Funny Bone event in 2012.

So Brian proposed to match the amount of money raised at his local St. Baldrick’s event in Bondurant, Iowa, up to $50,000. The year before, the event had raised over $30,000, and Brian wanted to drive this year’s total even higher.

Frank Bigley, then Senior Vice President of Reinsurance at Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company and a longtime St. Baldrick’s volunteer and supporter (he’s been organizing St. Baldrick’s events in Iowa since 2006), caught wind of Brian’s proposition. He was all set to shave for the seventh time at the nearby Funny Bone event at the end of February. But instead of giving his company’s annual $25,000 donation to his event, as he always had in the past, he decided to give it to the Bondurant event to help drive their fundraising total and maximize the match they’d get from Brian’s foundation.

With Frank’s help and the combined efforts of all the hardworking volunteers at the Bondurant event, they raised $88,981. The Lohses’ $50,000 donation brought their event total to just under $139,000 — over $100,000 more than their previous year’s total.

It’s also worth noting that the Funny Bone event didn’t suffer without the $25,000 check from Farmers Mutual Hail. They still surpassed their previous year’s total and raised nearly $110,000.

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Frank Bigley with the Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company’s $25,000 check.

So why are we telling you this now? Because of the Lohses’ generosity, and with the united efforts of the Iowa community who came together to make this year their biggest fundraising year yet, St. Baldrick’s was able to award an infrastructure grant of more than $50,000 to Blank Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in Des Moines, Iowa. This is the first year that Blank Children’s is receiving a grant from St. Baldrick’s, and it will help pay for a Clinical Research Associate to help enroll more children with cancer in clinical trials.

Brian, Mary, and Frank were able to celebrate the fruits of their labor at the check presentation ceremony last week; along with Aaron Clayton and Gregory Moore, volunteers at the Bondurant event; representatives from Farmers Mutual Hail; and representatives from the IMT Group, an insurance company in Des Moines whose volunteers raised over $12,000 for the Funny Bone event.

Brian said he was happy to see that some of the money they raised was coming back to make a difference in their local community. “It certainly helps shine a spotlight on the events that are here in central Iowa, and hopefully that will help bring in more donations next year,” he said.

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Left to right: Mary Lohse, Brian Lohse, Frank Bigley, St. Baldrick’s CEO Kathleen Ruddy, and St. Baldrick’s Director of Grants Administration Liz Jackson at the Bondurant event in March.

Brian noted that he and Mary are already planning ahead for next year’s St. Baldrick’s event. “We’re really looking forward to this next year for the St. Baldrick’s event coming up this April,” he said. “St. Baldrick’s events are a lot of fun, they’re a worthy cause, and what better way to support such a great cause than coming out and just having a good time?”

And, he added, he can’t wait to shave his head for the fifth time in April. “Not only am I shaving my head for a great cause, but I actually like being bald!”

You can help raise money for childhood cancer research, too.

Get Involved

Read more:
Funding Research Today to Save Lives Tomorrow
New Grants Help Fight Childhood Cancers
Every Cent Matters in the Fight Against Childhood Cancers
Infrastructure Grants Help Kids with Cancer in South Texas

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