for more information go to www.TeamBrent.com
The mission of the St. Baldrick's Foundation is to raise awareness and funds to cure childhood cancer. While battling cancer, children lose not only their hair but years of their childhood, and sometimes their lives. Participants in a St. Baldrick's event shave their heads in exchange for donations towards research. It's a simple concept, a fun time and a very effective fundraiser - since its founding in 2000, the St. Baldrick's Foundation has raised over $34 million with headshavings in 18 countries.
This money makes a difference in the fight. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in the US and it kills more children per year than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma and AIDS combined. There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximately $595,000 for research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of childhood cancer. Funding through events like this, dedicated to children, makes a difference. Forty years ago a child diagnosed with cancer had less than a ten percent chance of survival - today 78% overall are cured. We need to continue this trend.
In 2005, we created TeamBrent so we could battle childhood cancer alongside of our son Brent who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in September of 2004. Over the past four years TeamBrent has shaved over 1,000 heads and raised over a million dollars (exact amount still TBD) for childhood cancers everywhere through its participation in St Baldricks. Together we make a difference. And isn't it great that we can have fun while we do it?
This year's flagship event took place on March 13th at the Bear & Grill in Fairfield. The Total Look Salons and Academy shaved heads, www.CTFaceArt.com painted scalps. The Fairfield Gaelic Pipe band, The Rise and 95.9 the Fox radio station provided music from 4:30-7:30 while hundreds of children and their families stepped up and got shaved (and brave dunkees froze in the Children of the Sound provided dunk booth!) Thank you to sportscaster Deb Kaufman, Dr. MJ Hogan, 4th time shavee Tom Conigliaro and Mike McCreesh for some great speeches. After the speeches the band Vertigo rocked the house while we kept head shaving and painting! A great time!
Local business owners of Children of the Sound, Keough's Hardware, the Nauti Dolphin, the Little Gym of Fairfield joined forces with hundreds of children from different schools in Fairfield, Westport and Wilton, members of the Fairfield Firefighters Local 1426, the Greenwich Policemen and Collins IV Care (Brent's old home care nurses); hundreds of amazing community members, and the entire Sacred Heart University and Bridgeport Sound Tigers Hockey teams to get their heads shaved in solidarity with children with cancer. Further thanks go to Infinite Web Designs, A&S Wood Floors, Blue Tulip, FactSet, High Ridge Printing and Turnpike Music Garage.
Pictures are posted here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/benzamg/sets/72157604031547989/ very soon, thanks to our photographer Ben Sachs).
And wait - was that a real live Super TeamBrent Man we saw?
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Total Look shaved 443 people Thursday at the Bear & Grill, including 192 kids and 251 adults. Another 154 adults were shaved at the Boston and Meriden events, bringing TeamBrent's total # of shaved heads to 597, throw in London, Hong Kong, the 2 schools and we shaved almost 800 heads this year.
Monies TBD as corporate matches aren't in yet, but the best guess is that we will PASS $600k!
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TeamBrent Events:
Boston: The Greatest Bar, March 6. The Boston Celtics' Brian Scalabrine, and Lyndon Byers, former Boston Bruin and a current co-host on WAAF radio, shaved their heads for TeamBrent. Scalabrine then manned the clippers and helped shave dozens of others. Byers MC'd the event between speeches by the Dana Farber's Dr. Suzanne Shustermann and Mike McCreesh. The shaving was filmed and displayed on video screens on all four floors of the popular bar. Scal said "My wife is all good with it. She knows it's for a good cause. But my daughter was a little scared. She'll be turning 1 in a few weeks. She crawled right away from me, looking back scared. But by the time I came back from shootaround [yesterday], she was all good with it."
Meriden, CT: Quality Time, March 8. Fabulous event filled with unsurpassed spirit including a parade of firemen, bagpipes and Brent in full Fairfield firefighter gear, shaving heads.
London: The Last, March 18. FUN FUN FUN
Hong Kong - next week!
TeamBrent has other closed events at Swift Middle School (Oakville) & Elizabeth Shelton School.
Thank you for your support. Brent is here and happy (33 months cancer free!) as a direct result of generous donations made to childhood cancer research and people stepped up way before he was ever diagnosed. We all rest in the shade of trees we did not plant and we owe it to other kids to step up for them.
for more information go to www.TeamBrent.com
