Dear Friends and Family, I am writing this letter to tell you how thankful I am for getting above and beyond my goal of $800. With your help, I collected $1,250 for children who have cancer. I had never expected to get so much! This year, I made a poster to show everyone why I was shaving my head and raising money for the 4th year in a row. I went around my neighborhood and temple and collected money from a lot of generous people. At the temple, when someone came up to me and asked me what I was doing, I enthusiastically told them about it. If they gave money, I would think, “Wow. Another person who has a compassionate heart.” I even handed out flyers with information for people to donate online. There were so many people who stopped by my poster that I was sure I had a chance of reaching my goal. I walked around the neighborhood with enthusiasm along with my dad. I would ring the bell and when someone answered, I would show them my poster and tell them about what I was doing and why I was doing it. When someone would go inside to get money, I would turn around to my dad with a broad smile on my face. I was so happy that there was another good heart that donated money. When I went on April 26 to shave my head, I felt great! Let me tell you, I have never felt better than asking for donations and shaving my head for childhood cancer. I also got a lot of encouragement from everyone that I know. Childhood cancer is something that can happen at any time. Since children are more fragile than adults, the chance of something bad happening is much greater. The St. Baldricks Foundation donates money not only to poor families whose children have cancer, but also to researchers who find cures to many unique cancers. It is very sad to know that approximately 12,400 children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States! That means there are billions of dollars spent just to cure cancer. And if the patient dies, it is another sad story altogether. This is why St. Baldricks collects and donates money. Again, I want to thank you for all your help. Without all of you, I would not have not even reached my goal, let alone exceeded it. Sincerely, Vaarin Shroff