For the first time I’m joining Owen and am fundraising for St. Baldrick’s Foundation. I’ve been growing my hair since last summer, and now it’s longer than it’s been since my college days. With your support to hit our $5000 goal, I, along with Owen and many other local St. Baldrick’s supporters, will shave in the name of finding a cure.
I almost haven’t gotten through a month in the last year without finding out that someone in some corner of my life has cancer, or worse -- has died of cancer. A year ago, friends of ours said goodbye to their young son after a hard-fought battle against Burkitt’s lymphoma. I haven't been able to stop thinking of the long weeks and months Jack’s family spent by his side during treatment. I couldn’t stop thinking of the bravery cancer patients must show all the time. I couldn’t stop thinking of the amazing care all kids receive at Riley Hospital and many others and the persistence of the doctors, nurses, and researchers to show up every day, ready to fight.
Now I can’t stop thinking about what I can do to help.
A year later, and Jack is still on my mind daily. With every aluminum tab I put in a can for the Ronald McDonald House. Every time I see a monkey (Jack’s favorite animal and one of my daughter’s) or a bald head. Every drive past his house, past his school, or past Riley on my way to work. Every glance at a baseball photo of Owen with the “Jack Klein” sign on the park fence in the background.
I need to take some action, and this is a start. In the cold days of winter it’s easy to feel as gray as the sky. But spring is around the corner, and with spring comes hope. This year, the March 10th St. Baldrick’s event will hopefully usher spring in for me in a brand new way. I want to be part of giving hope to current little cancer-fighting warrior kiddos. I want to honor the childhood cancer survivors I know, like Neve Bowden, Jude Schaefer, and Joey Chamness. And I want to give childhood cancer a big fat middle finger in the name of Jack’s Pack. Funds I raise will be directed toward Jack’s Hero Fund, dedicated to funding research on Burkitt’s lymphoma.
Send matching gift forms to matchinggifts@stbaldricks.org, and please include my donor ID to ensure the contribution goes to my tally----it will make the sound of the clippers so much sweeter!
No matter what, I’m grateful and heart-full that I have you in our corner. Thank you for having our back and, more importantly, the backs of all children stricken by this horrible disease.
