It's my 9th year of shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research! Did you know that kids' cancers are different from adult cancers? It's true. And childhood cancer research is extremely underfunded. So I decided to do something about it by raising money for cures.
Genetics gave me this sparkling personality, this adequate height, some above average powers of recall, and it also killed my dream to have hair like Stalin or Kenny Rogers. I've been growing my hair out since November, and I've had quite enough of it.
So here we go again. For those of you who are unfamiliar, here's the history of it.
Because of that balding situation I was searching for some sort of solution to look better. Then in 2008, I was at a Las Vegas Wranglers hockey game with my kids, and they announced there would be a head shaving event across the street to benefit the St. Baldrick's Foundation. I figured we'd raise a couple hundred bucks and have some laughs.
Fast forward to today. My friends and I have raised over $21,000 for this charity. The Foundation now funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick's has committed more than $200 million since 2005 to fund local institutions as well as cooperative research on a national scale to help doctors work together to develop the best treatments for all children with cancer. This is important, groundbreaking work that would not be possible without your generosity, and many of you reading this have played a very important part.
For every $5 you donate, you get to choose a color for me to dye my hair; one color, no stripes. The kids and I dye it on the Thursday night before the event so my coworkers can get a good look on Friday, and I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures, not to mention a really nice time at the airport on St. Patrick's Day when I drop the kids off.
I'm getting shaved at Palmer Place in La Grange on March 18, time TBD. Let me know if you'd like to come out and join us.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity.
James Lyden
Team Space Monkeys
Knight of the Bald Table, 2014
Now I need your help! Will you make a donation? Every dollar makes a difference for the thousands of infants, children, teens, and young adults fighting childhood cancers.
