It's been three and a half years since my wife has seen my entire, clean shaven face. In that time span we have taken four trips to Disney World, toured a majority of the historical sites involved in the American Revolution, got engaged and married, and have started saving up for our first home. More recently, I skipped nine months worth of haircuts in preparation for Halloween where my wife and I dressed up as characters from Game of Thrones (I, of course, was the especially handsome Tormund Giantsbane. Look him up, the resemblance is uncanny). 

     I tell you this for two reasons. The first is so you can understand why I currently closely resemble a red headed version of Tom Hanks' character midway through the movie Cast Away. The second reason is because it is what has led me to participating in the Saint Baldrick's Foundation. When it came time to once again groom my appearance to more closely resemble someone who has lived past the Paleolithic Era, I could not get past the thought that I had put so much time and effort into looking so...overgrown. There had to be a greater purpose involved in cleaning up my appearance. That greater purpose is trying to raise as much money as I can to help take childhood back from cancer. 

     As a child I spent hours playing baseball. I played on teams, I played with friends, I even played on my own. I would take over a hundred swings a day staring at my reflection in the glass door in front of my parent's house. I played catch with my dad, I played catch with teammates, and, thanks to a brick wall at that same house, I played catch alone. Life was care-free then. There were no bills to pay, no clients to impress, and no responsibilities to tend to. All I had to worry about, was baseball. It's an unfair truth, but a truth nonetheless. I was incredibly fortunate to have that stress free childhood because the fact is, not every child is provided that same experience. Specifically, 1 in 285 children (just under the average size of an American elementary school) are not afforded the opportunity to live a care-free lifestyle because they are faced with an obstacle many of us do not have the first-hand experience of overcoming. It is the mission of the Saint Baldrick's foundation to see that every child is provided the opportunity to live without the strain and anxiety of fighting cancer. Through their head-shaving fundraising events, they strive to raise enough money towards childhood cancer research that some day childhood cancer can be eliminated and every young boy or girl can spend hours in front of the their parents' glass door perfecting their swing (if they so choose, of course). 

    I have decided to shave my head and beard in solidarity with all the children who are currently going through chemotherapy, but also in the hopes that I can raise money to promote research and hopefully one day discover a cure. Now I need your help. Please donate what you can, every dollar makes a difference for the thousands of infants, children, teens, and young adults fighting childhood cancers.