Embracing baldness for a cure

June 2007

The St. Baldrick's fundraisers, seeking to raise money for cancer research, proved to be a huge success.

Deputy Fire Chief John Beland said while the final numbers will not be tallied until next week, the weekend event has already cleared $27,000.

"People continue to donate to the event," said Beland, explaining that when people see all the shaved heads walking around and learn what it's for, people continue to go to the website to make a donation.

The volunteer hairdressers shaved more than 100 heads this past weekend, at least 25 more than last year said Beland.

This year also brought something new to the fundraiser. While heads were being shaved, people were also able to become a registered bone marrow donor to the national registry.

Where the average bone marrow donor draw from any one drive tends to be just about 20 new registrants, the St. Baldrick's event managed to bring in 68 new volunteers to the registry.

For more information on the St. Baldrick's foundation visit www.stbaldricks.org.