This is a year to get back to your roots, to prioritize the things you love. I started shaving for St. Baldrick’s as a child. My father and I originally shaved together. I can remember the cool March breeze hitting the backs of my tiny earlobes after the fresh shave. Walking in and out of tents and pubs, hair sticking to the bottom of your shoes. Those are just recollections of tangible sensations felt at St. Baldrick’s, but the energy felt there is unique and powerful enough to still be felt in our hearts at home.

When I shaved as a kid, I’d feel I was on the verge of tears, specifically towards the end of the shave. Considering the cacophony of a lively event, when you are on the stage and don’t have the microphone, all you can do is make eye contact with others. I always remember smiling faces; all the teeth showing, ears wiggling, foreheads wrinkling, dimples appearing, eyes shimmering; genuine smiles you rarely see anywhere else. You could show up as a complete stranger, and many people did, but when you entered the event you felt the love.

As a kid I didn’t know how to deduce the funny feeling in my throat and the moisture in my eyes, but I now know in my heart that it was the love within the laughs, smiles, eyes, bald heads, and hearts of all the St. Baldrick's family. That love is infinite and extends out to everyone.

Now as I’m a little older, I’m back to shave my head and trim my pitiful teenage facial hair (which has grown out as far as biologically possible) to raise money to help kids conquer cancers! Every 2 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer worldwide, and 1 in 5 of those in the U.S. will not survive. I refuse to accept this heartbreaking reality, so I’ve decided to fundraise for lifesaving research to find cures and better treatments for kids. Will you join me with your donation, big or small?

I need your support! Your donation can fund research to help kids survive and thrive.

The loving energy I’ve described is infinite, and as I’ve seen, it extends out to everyone. All my love and blessings to you.

Warmly,

Jackson