St. Baldrick's Going Bald to Eliminate Childhood Cancer...
My friend, Kel asked us to sponsor her as a shavee for St. Baldrick's. I was intrigued, said yes, and was asked to come and take photos of this monumental event.
.jpg)
How does shaving one's head help a child with cancer? Because kids with cancer often lose their hair during treatment, shavees for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation show their support by shaving their heads voluntarily, and inspiring friends and family to donate money to support childhood cancer research.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Okay, so we had to see what all of this was about. We entered the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena and almost immediately we were enveloped in a spirit of festiveness. Hundreds of people were there to either be shaved (172 shavees) or to support those who were soon to be bald. For several hours we witnessed selflessness from people of various ages, from young children to older grandparents. Girls, and some men, with long enough hair, first cut their ponytails for "Locks of Love" before the baldness ensued.
.jpg)
I have never in my lifetime seen such an overwhelming show of support and community solidarity. I was actually moved to goosebumps and tears.
.jpg)
Bailey, a huge reason for this to be the 4th annual St. Baldrick's in South Lake Tahoe, was diagnosed with Stage IV Neurosblastoma at the age of nine months. He was not expected to see his first birthday, and here he was at almost 16, rallying an entire town to step up to help raise funds to eliminate childhood cancer.
.jpg)
Caitlyn was born with Neuroblastoma and is the other reason so much of the community was here in full force. The love for these children permeated the room and washed over us all.
.jpg)
Van Oleson generously donates the Ice Arena for this event every year. And not only that, he and his son shaved their heads. When you work in a frigid environment like an ice rink, that's a sacrifice.
.jpg)
Heavenly formed a team of 88 shavees. I was blown away by that immense commitment. I knew it was an awesome company and now I know it's because of its dedicated, caring employees.
.jpg)
Christy, Bailey's grandma, has been participating for the last ten years. She is an amazing woman and I'm so happy I was able to meet her.
.jpg)
%2B(Medium).jpg) |
| Drs. David and Karen Borges are shavees every year!
Honestly, there are no words to express the emotions of this night. I experienced: sadness that every 3 seconds a child is diagnosed with cancer; appreciation that we live in a community whose members discard their concern for their appearance for the benefit of others and lastly, hopefulness that if one small town can make such a financial impact, there will be help for all the new cancer cases that arise in our future. What a gift it was to be in the presence of such giving. South Lake Tahoe continues to surprise and delight us, even after almost three years of living here.
.jpg)
Kel raised over $1,900 for the cause. Kudos to all the shavees, hair stylists, and everyone who made the night so successful (over $65,000 in donations and counting).
|
0 comments:
Post a Comment