St Baldrick’s Charity Appeal
THIS MONTH brings the Fifth Annual St Baldrick’s
Day celebrations worldwide.
Who was St Baldrick? The bald truth is that there
was no such saint. Rather, St Baldrick’s is a head-shaving event
that raises money to support research for cures to childhood
cancers. The name was inspired by the "Baldrick" character
played cunningly by actor Tony Robinson on the BBC’s Blackadder
series.
According to www.StBaldricks.org/,
men and women agree to have their heads shaved in return for
donations pledged by friends and families. Each "shavee"
attends a St Baldrick’s event in their area – usually an
Irish-style or British-style pub – where their locks are shorn
along with those of other shavees.
All funds collected support CureSearch National
Childhood Cancer Foundation’s research network of leading children’s
hospitals and cancer research centres. According to www.NCCF.org,
92.5 per cent of CureSearch NCCF’s total budget is spent on
research.
$17,000 on the 17th
The first St Baldrick’s celebration was held in
New York City. Two executives, John Bender and Enda McDonnell, were
challenged by a friend and colleague, Tim Kenny, to give back to
society. They agreed that the cure for childhood cancer is overdue,
and they were also determined to give St Patrick’s Day a
reputation for something besides drinking. Because childhood cancer
treatments often cause kids’ hair to fall out, the organisers
recruited volunteers to shave their heads in exchange for financial
pledges for cancer research.
What began with a goal of "$17,000 on the
17th" has now raised more than $3,300,000 for CureSearch NCCF,
which is the only organisation dedicated exclusively to supporting
life-saving research into childhood cancer.
Whilst St Baldrick’s shaving events are now held
any time of year, the day itself is usually celebrated on or just
before St Patrick’s Day. This year, most people will celebrate St
Baldrick’s Day on Friday 12th March.
Be Brave ... Go Bald!
All St Baldrick’s events are free, and most are
open to the public.
The St Baldrick’s website lists all official event
locations around the globe, and permits you to post your
"before" photo, submit information about your event, check
the amount of your online donations, and get fundraising and
organizing tools. You may also call (800) 458-6223 for information
on how and where you may participate.
All shavees must sign up online or by telephone
prior to the event in order to receive a commemorative pin, pledge
forms and other important information.
Donations and shavee sponsorships may be made
online, by phone, or by snail mail at St Baldrick’s, c/o
CureSearch NCCF, Processing Centre, PO Box 8926, Topeka, KS
66608-9997. If you plan to send a cheque, make it payable to
"St Baldrick’s—[City]"; if your city has more than one
St Baldrick’s event, please add the venue name, too. Also write
the name of the shavee you are sponsoring in the cheque’s memo
line.
Second Thoughts?
If you have second thoughts about shaving your head,
you can promote a shaving event, volunteer to work at the event, or
recruit shavees. But please remember that St Baldrick’s is about
going bald – about shaving heads in solidarity of children with
cancer, who typically lose all of their hair during chemotherapy.
Forty years ago, childhood cancer was almost always
fatal. Now the cure rate is over 75 per cent for some types of
cancer, and is constantly rising. Yet some childhood cancers are
resistant to new therapies. Much work needs to be done because
cancer stills kills more children than any other disease.
CureSearch NCCF’s goals include improving
childhood cancer five-year survival rates overall from the current
77 per cent to 85 per cent by 2008, and also enrolling more
teenagers and young adults with cancer in clinical trials.
Please Visit the Sponsors
The St Baldrick’s website is sponsored by www.IrishAbroad.com/,
a source for news and culture for Irish-descended people around the
world; and by www.Officer.com/
and www.Firehouse.com/,
online news and community sources for the law enforcement
profession, and for fire-fighters, rescue workers and emergency
medical providers.
Cancer survivor Sal Zaffino, the Chairman and CEO of
Guy Carpenter & Co –
www.guycarp.com/
— the 2004 Honourary Vice Chairman. Tim Kenny is the event’s
2004 Chairman.
AUTHOR: Dr Richard Tracey is an
educational researcher based in Carlsbad, California. His email
address is rtrac3y@hotmail.com.
The Union Jack’s email address is ujnews@ujnews.com.
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