Go bald — and help kids with cancer
Students will be lining up to have their heads shaved on Friday, May 13, at Ogden’s Highland Junior High School.
Why? Not because it’s the new fad, not because the kids want a more manageable summer cut, but because they have a cause.
St. Baldrick’s is a foundation whose motto says it all — “brave a shave for kids with cancer.” The nonprofit organization holds events where people can get pledged donations from their community to shave their heads.
The money raised goes straight to lifesaving children’s cancer research that St. Baldrick’s supports through millions of dollars in grants to pediatric oncologists nationwide.
And it’s working! A statistic on the St. Baldrick’s website reads, “In the 1950s, almost all kids diagnosed with cancer died. Because of research, today about 90 percent of kids with the most common type of cancer will live.”
Although this is a great start, the website also says there are still many other types of childhood cancers that don’t yet have a cure. St. Baldrick’s, based in Monrovia, California, wants to also give those afflicted children the same hopeful outlook.
Cory Ortiz, the teacher organizing this Highland Junior High event, got involved with St. Baldrick’s when he was in junior high. A friend invited him to a head-shaving event, and he has shaved his head every year since.
“My favorite part about St. Baldrick’s,” Ortiz says, “is being able to honor all of the people who have been affected by cancer by shaving in solidarity.”
Ortiz estimates there will be about 18 students –shaving their heads along with seven school staff members.
As a teacher at Highland, Ortiz hopes to inspire some of his students to make a change in something they are passionate about.
“Despite coming from a poor Title One School,” he says, “they have the ability to make a big difference.”
And so do you. The goal for this event is to raise $5,000 for the foundation, and even if you don’t want your head shaved, you can still help out! Either by pledging money to someone who is doing the shave challenge, or by donating directly online, please take this chance to be part of something bigger than yourself.
For more information on how to support the cause, visit the foundation’s website at www.stbaldricks.org.
Brooke Hansen is a senior at Weber High School. Her main goal is to “document the human experience.” Contact her at b-rook-o@hotmail.com.