Hello! Thanks for stopping by my St. Baldrick’s page. I hope that you and your families are all well in these extraordinary times. As always, I have to start out by thanking all of you for your support in the past. This year will be my 10th year as a “shavee” – to date, we’ve donated over $157,000! Thank you all so much for your generosity and compassion in supporting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the fight against childhood cancers.
We have all, individually and collectively, been through a lot over the last year. Due to the pandemic, we do many, but not all, of the same things that we used to do, but differently. Terms like “remote,” “virtual,” “asynchronous,” have all filled our vocabularies in the last year. We’ve learned to work from home while we are teacher’s aides, and tech support for our home wi-fi networks, and we’ve probably been to more “Zoom” happy hours in the last year than real ones pre-pandemic. Unfortunately, one thing hasn’t changed during the pandemic, and that’s the need to continue to fight against childhood cancers. Every two minutes around the world, a family learns that their child has cancer, and that reality is so much more challenging in the current environment.
On March 19, I’m putting my real head under a real razor in some kind of virtual environment to continue to honor the courageous children and families fighting childhood cancer and to raise money to find cures to these cancers through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The pandemic hit St. Baldrick’s fundraising hard, reducing donations in 2020 by $11 million, or almost 30%, compared to 2019. That’s $11 million of cancer research that won’t be able to continue, so it’s more important than ever to support the researchers battling to end childhood cancers.
As many of you know, I first got involved with St. Baldrick’s in honor of our friends, the Gerber family, and their son Teddy. His amazing parents, Jessica and Bill, tell Teddy’s story best (http://www.stbaldricks.org/kids/mypage/2435), but I’d like to share a few things about him. Teddy would have turned 20 this month and would be a sophomore in college. He was 8 years old and in third grade when he was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma in his chest. After 9 months of grueling surgeries and treatments in New York, New Haven, and Boston, and the associated emotional rollercoaster for Teddy, his parents, and his brother and sister, Teddy passed away in August 2010.
One of Teddy’s most joyful experiences during his illness was the first St. Baldrick's event at our elementary school in 2010. He was the guest of honor and kicked off the evening by shaving his brother's head (every little brother’s dream!), and as the evening wore on, he felt comfortable enough to take off the hooded sweatshirt that was omnipresent during his treatment because he wasn't the only bald kid at school anymore. Our community has raised more than $1.1 million through our annual shave in honor of Teddy and his family – thanks in no small part to all of you!
Please consider giving to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and join me in honoring families like the Gerbers, so that kids like Teddy can grow up and achieve amazing things! Click the green “Donate” box above to give to help me in supporting the fight against childhood cancers.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity!
