Why am I shaving my head, and why should you care?

A challenge among friends 25 years ago has become the largest volunteer movement to Conquer Kids’ Cancer. This is my 13th year, and I’m joining thousands of others to shave my head to raise money for childhood cancer research! My cousin Angie was 22 when she died in 1999, just a couple of years before the start of St. Baldrick’s. She fought melanoma, and believed that life is what you make of it, no matter how much time you have. She made gardens! And art! Her parents, my uncle and aunt, are now both in treatment for cancers, and doing their best to keep enjoying their lives and especially their life together.

Did you know, 1 in 5 kids diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. won’t survive? For those who do, more than 96% have severe or life-threatening conditions by the time they are 50. I also shave and fundraise in honor of Katie, a colleague’s daughter who had a heart transplant in her early 30’s as a result of cancer-curing treatments when she was a child. Childhood cancer research needs to be different because children’s bodies are still developing. They need treatments that will not just allow them to be free from cancer, but free to continue to grow and function.

Each shaved head, every dollar donated, creates a ripple effect of progress for kids with cancer.

Your gift will give kids and their families hope, supporting the best research across the country, through the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Together, let’s give these kids the lifetime they deserve. Thank you for your support!