Read how one St. Baldrick’s Volunteer Event Organizer got inspired and made his second head-shaving event even better than the first! Register your 2015 event now.
VEO Mike with Haven, a St. Baldrick’s Honored Kid, at the Parker, Colorado, head-shaving event.
“Own it and have fun. That’s what it’s all about,” Mike Waid said.
Mike’s “Shave the Mayor” event kicked off in 2013, with a call to the citizenry of the small town of Parker to participate and a goal of raising $2,000. Who could resist seeing their elected official go under the razor?
But Mike isn’t one to rest on his laurels. True to his own advice, he “owned” his first event, helping to draw shavees and funding. He even designed his own logo — the silhouette of a heavily bearded, quite hairy man.
“I went six weeks without getting a haircut, but I also didn’t shave my face for six weeks, and I’ve got some Sasquatch blood in me because my beard grows real fast,” he said. “I went the Full Monty and I had my head and beard shaved.”
The event ended up raising $8,645 — more than four times their original goal — and attracting 18 shavees.
“Now the beautiful part of it is that the community in Parker has recognized this event as a community event,” he said.
The Parker, Colorado, community gathered for the second annual Shave the Mayor event. Together, they raised more than $18,000 for children’s cancer research.
This year, Parker’s mayor upped the stakes in a way that generated quite a stir and lots of staring. He challenged the town’s citizens to this: whoever made the biggest single donation to his St. Baldrick’s account could choose the color he’d dye his hair and beard.
The winner was a local with two daughters who, as it turned out, couldn’t decide between pink and purple.
“So I had my hair dyed pink and purple and the front of my beard was dyed pink,” Mike said. “Parker is a very conservative community, and that was a good way of getting extra recognition for the event, and it was wonderful. It was a great time.”
Mike created a Shave the Mayor logo and dyed his brown hair pink and purple to boost his St. Baldrick’s event.
Part of what made this year’s event such a great time was that Mike was able to share it with Haven, an Honored Kid. Haven used to have to travel to California for treatment and wasn’t able to go to the first year’s event because she was too ill.
“So here I am, holding this beautiful, wonderful, happy, vibrant 4-year-old little girl, who is smiling beyond belief — who is here in my arms because St. Baldrick’s donated the money for them to have the ability to do the treatment here in Denver,” he said.
“You don’t get any more close to home than that,” Mike said of St. Baldrick’s impact. “Even when I’m not mayor anymore, if I’m not doing a St. Baldrick’s event, I will find a St. Baldrick’s event, and I will do it for the rest of my life.”
Learn more about St. Baldrick’s Honored Kids >
Mike said fundraising was definitely easier the second year. The 2014 event did even better than the first, drawing 23 shavees and raising $18,836.
Now Mike is determined to make the third year even more awesome. He’s already started putting together a committee to snag corporate sponsors.
“We’re going to really, really do it up,” Mike said. “I want Shave the Mayor to be one of the top events in the nation. I’m going to really try to kick it in.”
You don’t have to be a mayor to make your event a success. As Mike says, own it and come up with a hook that’s meaningful for you. And one of the secrets to success, Mike said, is the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
“You guys really truly make it easy,” he said.
Thank you, Mike! We think a lot of enthusiasm, a dash of creativity, and some hair dye go a long way, too.
Get started right now and register your event for 2015. Then visit the VEO Tips page for more great ideas!
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