Dear Friends and Family. You may have noticed lately that I am in desperate need of a haircut. And for what you thought might just be laziness, I am actually growing it out in support of something very serious, and I am asking for your support. Each year in March around St. Patrick’s day, I participate with my Friends, Firefighters, Police Officers, and nearly 38,000 other volunteer participants worldwide in a charity event called St. Baldrick's, where we raise money to fund childhood cancer research by shaving our heads. Worldwide, 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and despite tremendous progress, cancer remains the number one disease killer of children in the U.S. and Canada. One of the ways the St. Baldrick's Foundation raises funds for childhood cancer research is by hosting worldwide head-shaving events, where volunteers like me shave their heads in solidarity with the children who typically lose their hair during treatment. These “shavees” receive pledges of financial support from their friends and family, like you, and in turn their generous donations help fund life-saving pediatric cancer research. St. Baldrick’s events have raised approximately $90 million over the past 11 years, providing research grants to doctors and scientists at over 230 institutions to pursue the most promising new cures for childhood cancer and to help make clinical trials available to more children than ever. Since 2000, St. Baldrick’s has hosted more than 3,200 head-shaving events, shaving nearly 145,000 heads in 28 countries and 50 U.S. states. This is my 6th year participating, and this year, I am going to have my head shaved at a St. Baldrick’s Foundation event on March 12, 2011 at the Los Angeles Fire Department Station 89 at 7063 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood, California. Last year, my friends and family helped me raise over $750 dollars. In Total, I have raised over $7,000. Please help me reach my goal of raising $1,000 this year, and make a tax deductible donation on my head. There will also be a FREE pancake breakfast sponsored by the Los Angeles Fire Department, so bring the family out and come watch me and others “shave the way to conquer kids’ cancer!” You can count on this donation being used responsibly. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. In 2010 alone, sponsors like you gave over $14 million – that’s more in grants for childhood cancer research than any other organization except the U.S. government. And all because nearly 38,000 people shaved their heads! You can donate directly online by clicking here: http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/ryanling2011 or by phone (888-899-BALD). Credit cards are the most efficient way to give, or you can write a check payable to “St. Baldrick’s Foundation.” I’ll be collecting pledges! On behalf of some very special kids, thank you for your support! Sincerely, Ryan W. Ling