My dear friends, relatives and acquaintances,
I joined St. Baldrick’s Foundation as a Shavee in 2016 and have raised $ 25,904 in the past 10 years. Every year I write a letter to family and friends requesting that they pledge money to St. Baldricks, an organization that funds research into treatments and cures for childhood cancer. St. Baldricks is the largest private source of funds for childhood cancer research, and I am proud to support their efforts. St. Baldricks asks donors to pledge money in exchange for me shaving my head. Since my head hair continues to thin, I shave my head and beard rather than only my head for this challenge. Donors will receive BEFORE THE SHAVE and AFTER THE SHAVE pictures, as well as my heartfelt thanks.
I have joined the UC Davis Health Center’s St. Baldrick’s team this year and will be shaved at Mulvaney’s B&L (1215 19th Street, Sacramento, CA), on Monday, March 10th, 5 pm - 9 pm. Please join me early if in town. It’s a party!
Every year I research what St. Baldricks is up to and who they are helping. Children with cancer hope for the same things that healthy children hope for—they dream of being princesses or pirates, walking on the moon, curing cancers, getting married and having children. But cancer gets in the way. I am deeply saddened by their medical experiences AND absolutely inspired by their inherent goodness and kindness, by their inner strength and wisdom and their pure love of life. You can read some of their heart-warming and heart-breaking stories at: https://blog.stbaldricks.org/category/kids-with-cancer/ .
Childhood Cancer is relentless. Numbers can help us understand the scope of the problem.
• Adults are diagnosed with cancer at an average age of 67 and lose an expected 15 years of life.
• Kids are diagnosed with cancer at an average age of 8 and lose an expected 71 years of life.
• The cancer will have spread to other organs in 80% of kids diagnosed with cancer because it is identified so late. Even when kids get cancers that adults get—like lymphoma—they must be treated differently. Children are not simply smaller adults!
• California has the highest rate of childhood leukemia in the entire nation.
• In the U.S., more children die from childhood cancer than any other disease.
• By the time they’re 50 virtually all childhood cancer survivors have chronic health problems and/or life-threatening conditions because of the treatments they received as kids.
• Every year approximately 1 In 263 kids in the US will be diagnosed with cancer. That’s one or two at every elementary school!
• A child is diagnosed with cancer somewhere in the world every 2 minutes. That is 300,000 children a year.
I so appreciate YOUR willingness to support St. Baldricks in their efforts to find better treatments and cures for childhood cancers. I urge you all to point your browser to https://www.stbaldricks.org to learn more about this scourge and what St. Baldricks is doing to help.
Last year we pledged $3464 to St. Baldricks. I’m hoping to increase that number this year!
Please use the attached form to donate to St. Baldricks or use the following QR Code.
Here’s the beard I’ll shave
Stewart Savage is also shaving to raise money for St. Baldricks. You can donate to him at the following URL: https://www.stbaldricks.org/donate/participant/1157154/2025
