No, I don’t mean St. Patrick’s Day, though that is also a great thing to celebrate. I do indeed mean to say celebrate St. Baldrick’s. A friend of mine recently told me he was shaving his head which threw me a little off guard. He followed up by saying he was doing it for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an incredible program that has been fundraising since 2000 for childhood cancer research. The Foundation is entirely volunteer based and raises money through volunteer efforts to collect donations in return for shaving their head for the cause.
Children who suffer from cancer and endure chemo and radiation treatments for their disease often lose much of their hair or end up completely bald. Those who shave their heads for St. Baldrick’s do so in honor of the brave children who fight each day for their lives. The act of shaving one’s head is a small token to offer children who are battling cancer. According to the Foundation’s website, St. Baldrick’s events have taken place in 18 countries, 48 U.S. states, raised over $50 million, and more than 72,000 heads have been shaved. These are sobering numbers and it is amazing to see the global reach of the Foundation and the volunteers who participate.
Until now I had never heard of St. Baldrick’s. My friend sent me the link to his donation page and then I combed through the rest of the website. By the time I had read about the Foundation and watched the video on their site I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps over the scores of children who have suffered from cancer, but who seem to be smiling with hope in every picture and who must put all their faith in the hands of family, friends, doctors, a higher power, and complete strangers to make their journey one of survival.
I could only offer my friend a little donation right now, but there is no question that every little bit helps. Many small steps taken together can no doubt achieve a goal and whether it is through donating, shaving, volunteering, or spreading the word, there is always a little bit we can give to someone, a child, who needs it more than we do.
