It's my 15th year of shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research! That makes me qualified as a Crusader, and I'm going back to celebrate this achievement in the first place I ever started getting my hair cut in taverns, McMullan's Irish Pub.

Did you know that kids' cancers are different from adult cancers? It's true. And childhood cancer research is extremely underfunded. So I decided to do something about it by raising money for cures.

Genetics gave me this sparkling personality, this adequate height, some above average powers of recall, and it also killed my dream to have hair like Stalin or Kenny Rogers. I've been growing my hair out since the end of June, and I've had quite enough of it. I mean, it's been over five years since the last time I haven't been bald. I spent a couple years raising money to lose the beard, and I can tell you horrifying, painful stories about what a bleach kit will do to a man's face, dermatologically.

So here we go again. For those of you who are unfamiliar, here's the history of it.

Because of that balding situation I was searching for some sort of solution to look better. Then in 2008, I was at a Las Vegas Wranglers hockey game with my kids, and they announced there would be a head shaving event across the street to benefit the St. Baldrick's Foundation. I figured we'd raise a couple hundred bucks and have some laughs.

Fast forward to today. My friends and I have raised over $35,000 for this charity. The Foundation now funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. 

Now I need your help! Will you make a donation? Every dollar makes a difference for the thousands of infants, children, teens, and young adults fighting childhood cancers.

For every $5 you donate, you get to choose a color for me to dye my hair; one color, no stripes. If we break our all time Space Monkeys record of $5993 - and let's round that up to an even 6 grand -  I'll do it before I get on the plane to Vegas on Thursday, September 12, which means you might get to send me to a very nice restaurant in a suit and tie and probably keep me away from the nicer tables.

I'm getting shaved at McMullans Irish Pub on September 14, time TBD. Let me know if you'd like to come out and join us.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity.

James Lyden

Team Space Monkeys

Knight of the Bald Table, 2014

Knight Commander, 2019

Crusader For a Cure, 2024