Family and Friends,
A lot has changed since our last St. Baldrick’s so I’ll give you a recap. One of our honored kids, Zac Gossage, finished his last treatment in August and is in remission. Zac is very excited to have his port removed early next month. He can’t wait to swim in the lake, play in the river, and just be a normal kid. If this great news doesn’t help your day get a little better than I don’t know what will. I was honored to speak a few words on his last day of treatment to the many people who were there to celebrate his incredible achievement. And I made him keep a promise he made to me a little over 2 years prior. You see, Zac had orange bracelets in support of him during his treatment. His dad, Cliff, gave me one shortly after we had met. I made a promise to Zac to stand with him during his fight and to never take off the bracelet. At the same time I made him promise me that when he kicked the monster, he had to cut it off. I am proud and honored to say that we both kept our promises and on August 29, 2016, with scissors in hand, Zac cut the bracelet off and with that, won his fight.
A couple of years ago we also had the honor of meeting a beautiful, spunky young girl, Keira Stout. Keira’s battle and journey has been tough. We spent and evening with Keira’s family recently and experienced laughs, a few tears, and great conversation with all of them. It was another one of those moments when I knew we needed to have her join our team this year. Keira is in Stage 4 with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant tumor that arises from a normal skeletal muscle cell. Keira was diagnosed in May 2014 after being sick for over a month with what was thought to be a sinus infection. The tumor took her eye sight from her right eye and spread to her lungs, bone marrow, arm and back. This year Keira and her family want to be an active part of Team Schmolivbarr and we are honored to have them.
This year marks my 9th year shaving my head and participating in this event. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I first did this, but it has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done and been associated with. The kids and families that we have met through this journey are amazing. They are some of our dearest friends and had we not gotten involved in this event we probably would’ve never met. For this I am greatful.
In 2009 I was the only member of Team Schmolivbarr. I was nervous but felt a sense of accomplishment in knowing that I reached my goal of raising $2500.00 for this great cause. The greatest moment for me that day was when my niece, Emily took the clippers and shaved my head. She was the reason I started doing this and has forever changed my life. Emily is a 19-year cancer survivor and one of the lucky ones. She attends Loyola University in Chicago and is fulfilling her life dreams.
In February 2012, I had the honor of meeting Landen Rush. It was a chance meeting that to this day has made me realize that not all children with cancer beat the odds of survival. While I knew Landen for such a short time I realized that he was placed in my life for reasons that I’m still learning about. Landen lost his battle with Medullblastomo (brain and spine cancer) on June 29, 2012. My mom sent me an email when she learned of Landens passing and it said, “For living such a short life he brought more people together than most adults do in a lifetime. Hard to beat that as a legacy. Thanks for bringing him into our lives.” Words that still make me cry when I read them. Words that I think of every time I see a yellow butterfly (the symbol that Team Schmolivbarr embraces as our constant remembrance of Landen). Landen was and always will be a huge driving for for Team Schmolivbarr as we shave in his memory. His mom and our dear friend, Deon, is very involved and always an energetic part of our team. She keep Landen’s memory alive and vibrant. Recently we found out that both of Landen’s corneas were used to help two people regain their sight. One was a 12-year old girl and the other, a 68-year old man. Both live in South Africa. The most interesting thing about all of this is that Landen’s greatest wish was to go see the animals in Africa. Now, in his own odd way, he get to.
In 2014, at the suggestion of Deon, we had the opportunity to meet another honored child, Zac. Zac is 9 years old and is now cancer free. This young boy has been an inspiration to all of us. Zac will be shaving his head again this year to show his support of kids with cancer. Zac and his family have become very close with us. We have shared in a lot of great experiences together. We were there for his Make-A-Wish day, his bell ringing day when he finished treatment, and many other special times together. Zac made a drawing 3 years ago that was to be auctioned off during the event. This drawing defines everything that Team Schmolivbarr stands for. It has become part of our fabric. The yellow butterfly, Lucky (the official St. Baldrick’s Foundation mascot), the heart, the colors, the names on the logo, each of these has meaning to us.
This year we have a number of repeat members on our team headed by me of course. I am an official, “Knight fo the Bald Table” member. Cliff, Tye, Zac, and Quinten will be shaving. Lea (Deon’s aunt) is back. I’m also very proud to say that our son, Jacob a senior at Kirkwood High School will be knighted this year. For seven years Jacob has shaved his head. Think about that for a second. A young man has shaved his head throughout junior high and high school voluntarily to honor those kids who lose their hair in their battle with cancer. I couldn’t be more proud of him and his heart. We encourage and welcome anyone who wants to be a part of Team Schmolivbarr.
We are also proud that our friends at Isaac’s Rays of Hope (IROH) have partnered with Team Schmolivbarr for the 3rd year in a row. Isaac Wargo is also one our honored kids and he is a survivor of infantile fibrosarcoma. IROH was started by the Wargo family because they have not forgotten the kindness and care they received from their family, friends, and community along their journey. They now pay it forward by raising money to help provide support to other families in similar situations. The financial support they offer can be found in the form of gas cards, food cards, utility payments, medical deductibles, and much more.
I look back at the 8 years of doing this and am amazed by the love and support of so many. I look back and have not forgotten why we do this. We do this so kids can be kids. So they can laugh and play and get dirty and make us smile. We fight for the lives of those who shouldn’t be fighting and those that can’t fight any longer. We go bald to stand in unity with the kids we are trying to help. We do this because the children we are helping could very well be one of our own. Let’s make a difference. Over the past 8 years our teams have raised over $90,000.00. This year we have our sights set high again this year. Your support in the past has helped us achieve our goals each year and I am reaching our again in hopes that you are able to contribute a donation on my behalf.
There are several ways do donate:
*ONLINE: just click on the "Donate" button above to donate online.
*MAIL A CHECK: You can mail a check made payable to St. Baldrick’s Foundation to: Surety Refrigeration, C/O Craig Schmitz, 8620 South Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63111. You will receive a letter and/or email from St. Baldrick’s for tax purposes.
*CHECK OR CASH AT THE EVENT: You can bring a check or cash to the event. There is a donation table set up during the event and we make several trips to the table turning in our team donations.
*PURCHASE A TEAM SCHMOLIVBARR T-SHRITY OR SWEATSHIRT by going to: www.bonfire.com/2017-st-baldricks-team-schmolivbarr/ All proceeds from this fundraiser goes directly to St. Baldricks’s.
I want to personally thank all of you in advance for your continued support of our team’s efforts over the years. Without your generosity we would not have been able to reach our goals. I will be sending out a follow up email to you informing you of our teams shave time. We would love for those of you that can make it that day to be there. It is a magical event.
As always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me. Thanks again for your support and Team Schmolivbarr hopes to see you on March 4, 2017 at Helen Fitzgeralds.
Sincerely,
Craig and Team Schmolivbarr
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Let’s do our part in helping kids with cancer dance in the rain.
