Millbrook is hosting a St. Baldrick’s event this Saturday, March 25. Numerous volunteers signed up to help out with the event, as well as shavees. The four students willing to shave their heads to show their support for the cause are Connor Washington, David Flowers, Andrew Brooks, and Michael Palko. The event is also opened to spectators and anyone that wants to come show support, so do not hesitate to come by the Millbrook gymnasium this Saturday.

 Junior Connor Washington participated in St. Baldrick’s for the first time in 2010, the same year his 8-year-old brother was diagnosed with Leukemia. He not only raised money for the foundation but also signed up to be a shavee. Personally, Connor thinks St. Baldrick’s is a very good organization because they are solely dedicated to childhood cancer research rather than other organizations that put minimal focus on the matter. His favorite part about the event itself was all of the support he received. Connor looks forward to participating in the shaving event once again this Saturday. He said, “Everyone was really happy and supportive and kind of  cheerful.” His brother was officially announced cancer free in June of 2015.

The purpose of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is to change some of the harsh realities children with cancer face. The St. Baldrick’s foundation works to provide hospitals with funds to open high-impact clinical trials for rare disease types, funding researchers to work together, training the next generation of researchers, as well as funding supportive care research to improve the quality of life for patients and survivors.

 Many people lack a solid understanding of how serious childhood cancer is. Two-thirds of children treated for childhood cancer will suffer long-term effects from treatment, including loss of hearing and sight, heart disease, secondary cancers, learning disabilities, infertility, and more. Worldwide, 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. In fact, in the U.S. more children die of childhood cancer than any other disease. Childhood cancer is not just one disease—there are over a dozen types of childhood cancer and countless sub-types. Each type requires specific research to develop the best treatment for every child. However, in the last 20 years, only three new drugs have been approved that were specifically developed to treat children with cancer.

 A very big and popular part of the St. Baldrick’s foundation is shaving heads. They do this because kids with cancer often lose their hair during treatment, and they want people to show that they stand proudly bald beside them. Of course, the true goal is to cure childhood cancer and this will be accomplished because, while shaving, the organization raise funds for lifesaving childhood cancer research.

 The “Shavees” sign up on the website, collect money from friends and family, and go to the volunteer-organized event in their community to officially get their heads shaved. The St. Baldricks Foundation relies heavily on their volunteers. If you wish to get involved, whether that be by making a donation, becoming a volunteer, or even signing up to be a shavee, visit this link: https://www.stbaldricks.org/