I've really been thinking about this over the last few days more and more...
I never had a family member or friend lose a child to pediatric cancer prior to being involved with St Baldricks. My story was that I was asked about 9 years ago by, at that time an acquaintance, Robb Drzewicki... If I would be willing to donate my time and my tips behind the bar for a few hours to this kids charity he runs. Of course! I love getting behind a good cause. Myself and Matt "Wheels" Wells bartended the first Metro Detroit St Baldricks Bartender Brawl where we rallied our regulars at the Plymouth Roc to see who could raise the most in tips for St Baldricks. It was such a blast! That year I was invited and attended my first Main Event Shave-a-thon.
I realized that this was so much more then just a little bar event. I saw the emotion in the room. I saw the tears of parents and shavees. I saw the hugs and love from everyone in the room. I heard the stories. After the event, I researched St Baldricks. I saw the impact it was making on a national scale. I read deeper to find that pediatric cancer is the least funded out of all the cancer researches. And its up to organizations like St Baldricks to help fill that funding gap. I. WAS. HOOKED. The following year, I raised funds for the first time. The next year I stared my team, Hogan's Heroes. From there, I started to volunteer with the volunteer staff, shadowing and learning from amazing people like Robb Drzewicki, Emily MacBeth, Tim Genarro, Tabitha Lyngvar, Jordan West, and Michael Fiscus, just to name a few. You realize that this isn't just a fundraiser. Its a passion. A passion for helping. A passion for giving back. For fighting for the less fortunate.
In 2020, leading into a pandemic year, I was blessed with the opportunity to take over as VEO for our Metro Detroit Chapter. We made over $140,000 and shaved a bunch of heads in the One Under Parking lot that year! I was so proud of the way we all came together that year. A year of turmoil and people being torn apart... We came together!
I have been so proud to be a part of this amazing organization to stand aside such fantastic people around me like Erin Tugulan, Lisa and Johnny Prusak, Dayna Carroll, Jason Simons, Dan and Shauna Maynard, Kaiey Hubbard and Val Krava, Jeff Clatterbaugh, the Austin family and Team Chrome dome, the aforementioned mentors, and so many many more. Stylists like Kristen Code, Tiffany Burry, and Marie Raymond and all the others that have volunteered their time. It's the passion of the people that come back and do this every year that drives me. It is knowing that we are counted on by the less fortunate. It's St Baldricks. All of you and this organization are MY why.
What's yours?
