On March 15, I’m putting my head under the shears for the eighth time to honor the courageous children and families fighting childhood cancer and to raise money to find cures to these cancers through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
First of all, I have to thank all of you who have donated in the past for your amazing support in previous St. Baldrick’s fundraising efforts. This year marks my eighth year as a “shavee” – to date, we’ve donated over $125,000! Thank you all so much for your amazing generosity and compassion in supporting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the fight against childhood cancers.
As always, I’d like to honor our friends, the Gerber family, and their son Teddy. His amazing parents, Jessica and Bill, tell Teddy’s story best (http://www.stbaldricks.org/kids/mypage/2435), but I’d like to share a few things about him. Teddy would have turned 18 this month and would be a senior in high school. He was 8 years old and in third grade when he was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma in his chest. After 9 months of grueling surgeries and treatments in New York, New Haven, and Boston, and the associated emotional rollercoaster for Teddy, his parents, and his brother and sister, Teddy passed away in August 2010.
One of Teddy’s most joyful experiences during his illness was the first St. Baldrick's event at our elementary school in 2010. He was the guest of honor and kicked off the evening by shaving his brother's head (every little brother’s dream!), and as the evening wore on, he felt comfortable enough to take off the hooded sweatshirt that was omnipresent during his treatment because he wasn't the only bald kid at school anymore. Last year, we crossed the $1 million mark in terms of funds raised by our community through our annual shave in honor of Teddy and his family – thanks in no small part to all of you!
Our donations have enabled the St. Baldrick’s foundation to fund over $258 million in grants, allowing the foundation to fund more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. That research has had some amazing impacts on the lives of children fighting cancer and their families. See more here: https://www.stbaldricks.org/see-the-impact.
Please consider giving to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and join me in honoring families like the Gerbers, so that kids like Teddy can grow up and achieve amazing things!
