I am participating this year in an event that uniquely combines my passion for children’s charities with my career in the insurance industry. St. Baldrick’s was founded in 1999 by three Irish reinsurance executives who wanted to help kids with cancer. Since setting up the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in 2005, more than $56,000,000 has been raised through donations received around the globe. Last year, more than 800 events took place where over 38,000 people raised better than $22,000,000 for this cause. If you’re not familiar with St. Baldrick’s, the process is simple: volunteers agree to have their head shaved in exchange for raising money to benefit this cause. Some statistics on childhood cancer help to define the scope of this problem. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children under the age of 20. Each year, more than 12,000 new cancer diagnoses are made in kids under the age of 20. Cancer affects 1 every 330 kids, and the average age of diagnosis is age 5. To help put that into perspective, consider the primary schools in your community and think about how many kids in those schools need to hear the words “you have cancer” when 1 in just 330 are affected. In my community, the answer is more than 20 kids, two of whom are neighbors. But the news isn’t exclusively bad thanks to organizations like St. Baldrick’s that generously support cancer research for kids. Cancer survival rates among children just 40 years ago were near zero, yet this figure exceeds 75% today. Clinical trials for kids with cancer have lead to significant advances in the treatment of cancer – both in kids and in adults. Chemotherapy, as an example, first proved to be effective in children with cancer. This and other advances in the treatment of cancer has stemmed from pediatric cancer research. On Friday, March 11th, I will be parting ways with the hair on my head (admittedly, a process that has been slowly progressing for the last several years on its own). I am asking for your help by making a donation to this cause and allowing St. Baldrick’s to continue its mission of funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and giving survivors long and healthy lives. In addition, my employer has generously agreed to match donations to my team for this event. St. Baldrick’s is an accredited charity and seal holder of the Better Business Bureau, meeting all 20 standards for charity accountability. This alone assures you that your donation is being well spent and that it will make a meaningful difference in the advances being made in cancer research. But with the generous support of my employer, money donated to this event will go twice as far.