Why am I supporting St.Baldrick’s, an organization that raises funds for pediatric cancer research? Why am I getting my head shaved on November 13th, my birthday?
Cancer has affected most people's lives either directly or indirectly and I am not an exception. When I was in high school I lost my aunt to cancer.
Then as a junior in college I participated in a spring break service trip to Memphis, Tennessee where we volunteered at the Target House. The Target House is an apartment-style housing facility for families with children who need to be at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for longer than 3 months. While we were there, we cleaned the facilities, planned programming for the children and just interacted with the kids. When not cleaning I personally spent most of my time playing pool with two boys, probably not much older than 11 years old. One of the boys was there because his sister was ill and the other was there because he was fighting cancer himself. I enjoyed playing with these boys and I was amazed at their composure and maturity, but at the same time, my heart was so heavy as they told me all that they were going through because cancer was wreaking havoc in their family. It hurt to see how much growing up these kids had to do so fast. The thing that hit me most during that week was something that happened on the last day of our trip. That day the boy who was fighting cancer could not come down to play because he recently received chemo and was too weak to do anything that day. I was sad because I did not get to say bye and wish him luck in his fight, but I was more so hit by just how debilitating cancer is, and this was a kid younger than me. Why should he have to suffer like that?
That trip and experience left an indelible mark on me and I think of those boys often and the many other children that are battling cancer. I don’t know what happened to the boy that I did not get to see on the last day, but I pray that with the help of doctors he was able to defeat cancer and that he is still seen by his friends and family as he lives out his life. What I do know is that we must do all we can to make sure children and others don’t have to suffer from cancer and we must support the research for a cure. That is why I am raising funds for St. Baldrick’s this year and committing to shaving my head in solidarity.
I am asking you, will you consider supporting St. Baldrick’s this year? I don’t normally do birthday fundraisers, but the event is on my birthday this year, and I want to acknowledge that because of cancer many children don’t get to celebrate too many birthdays. So I pray that by supporting organizations like St. Baldrick’s, a cure will be found and many children will be able to celebrate many more birthdays because we collectively have helped defeat cancer. Consider joining me in this effort by donating today
