Every year, when I tell my students about the different fundraisers I do, I always get asked, “Why do you shave your head?” for the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. I simply reply, “I do it because of MARLENE BROWN”.


Marlene was my student at the beginning of my career who changed my life. Marlene was an exceptional singer in the school’s chorus and she always helped others. She was kind and polite even when she faced extreme obstacles. She was diagnosed with Leukemia. It caught us all by surprised. And it moved so quickly. She was fine and healthy one day, and gone the next. I still remember the last words she said to me. “Please don’t come to visit me anymore. I want you to remember the good, not the bad.” But that is Marlene; always looking out for the feelings of others. I still get angry and sad when I think about her and how the world had lost such a beautiful soul to this dreaded disease.

I'm having my head shaved to stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer, but more importantly, to raise money to find cures so family and friends will not have to feel the pain and sorrow associated with this disease. Please support me with a donation to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. This charity is volunteer-driven and funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. Your gift will give hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers. So when I ask for your support, I'm really asking you to support these kids.


Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Bill Spain