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 . I simply reply, “I do it because of MARLENE BROWN”.
Several years ago at the beginning of my career, I lost one of my students, Marlene Brown, to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. That experience changed my life. Marlene an exceptional singer in the Amundsen Chorus and the driving force for the Cheerleaders. She was kind and polite even when she faced extreme obstacles. She was diagnosed in September of 1996, the beginning of her sophomore year, she was only 16 years old. We lost her in August of 1997.
We would visit her in the hospital and watched as the disease took her spirit and eventually took her life. The pain I felt from her loss was tremendous, but it was nothing compared to the pain her parents and family felt. Her younger sisters became my students as well, and every year, we remembered those memories and emotions. Over the years, the Amundsen community has lost several students to various forms of cancer. We need to find a cure!!!
This Friday, I am participating in one of the St. Baldrick's event. 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.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an organization that raises money for Childhood Cancer Research. The foundation works closely with leading pediatric oncologist to determine the most promising research to fund and create funding priorities to make the greatest impact for children with cancer.