It was Jazzie who did it for me.

For years, my wife, Sherrie, and I have heard stories of joy and sorrow from our daughter, Flori, a pediatric oncology nurse at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Then, four years ago, my wife and I attended the big St. Baldricks event in Denver. That’s where we met Jazzie, a beautiful, energetic, outgoing teenager who very sadly was stricken with childhood cancer. Her bubbling, delightful personality charmed me and amazed me, given the disease she was fighting and the fact that she was at that time confined to a wheelchair. Her warmth, personality and grace touched me deeply. It broke my heart, therefore, when I found out from Flori that she had passed from this world only a short time thereafter.

We all go through life at times feeling that we have problems, and we let those problems get us down. Yet, this young lady who had experienced only 15 years of life and with full knowledge that her disease would soon claim her life demonstrated a courage, strength and love of life beyond what most adults manage under less damning circumstances. It was after meeting Jazzie and becoming aware that her awesome persona was no longer with us when I decided to shave my head in support of St. Baldricks and their exclusive focus on research dedicated to childhood cancer.

This year will be the third consecutive year I have shaved. Rarely does one have the opportunity to give so little to gain so much. I hope to shave my head for years to come in memory of Jazzie and so many other wonderful children like her – some of whom have been saved or whose treatment has been minimized as the result of the type of research St. Baldricks funds, and some, sadly, like Jazzie, who have left their mark on the world and are no longer with us (our |Angels).

I am a member of Melting Pot for Cancer, the team our daughter forms for this event. In 2016, the first year of my involvement, her team raised $15,709 (almost $3,000 beyond her goal), and, thanks to wonderful supporters, I raised $5,730 of that total. In 2017, her team in total raised a total of $28,056, ($8,056 beyond her $20,000 goal), and I raised $7,219 of that total. Flori’s team was in 5th place out of 60 teams. Had our team raised $5,014 more, we would have been in 3rd place.

My goals this year are:

To raise $10,000 personally; and

To help our team get into 3rd place

Of course, I need the help of all those who want to help our children have better and longer lives. For all those who haven’t and would like to donate, please click the "Donate" link above and make a donation that you are comfortable with. Many of you work for companies that will match your donations. If that is the case, please let me know so we can process that additional donation.

Please forward this request for support to those in your network. And, if any of you or your friends or colleagues would like to join us on March 16 in DTC or at another event, please let me know. There are many other local events (although we are the largest) as well as many events around the country.

It’s not for me – it’s for our kids.

It was Jazzie who did it for me. Hopefully, this request will do it for you.