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The community is doing it again. This year, the St. Baldrick's head shaving event is fast approaching and will take place on March 27.
With 23 teams and 178 participants already registered, the time is now to pick a team or just register to help out in any way. Become a "shavee," help raise funds, and donate to a great cause.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. at the Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center, 26 E. First St. Eight barbers will be on duty during the event to keep the night running quickly, said Dan Witmer, the volunteer event organizer for Oswego. All funds raised and donated will be given straight to the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
"Last year we raised a total of $72,000," Witmer said. "While it is difficult to come up with a number regarding our goal for this year, we chose $75,000. We'd be happy with 40,000, but if we end up raising the $75,000 that would be great, too."
He pointed out that participants do not have to register to a team and can become involved through any amount of help desired.
"The whole idea behind the teams is to create competition to motivate teams to raise funds while also providing a sense of belonging to a specific group of people," Witmer explained.
In the Oswego City School District, six students are diagnosed with cancer and the schools have already begun fundraising for the St. Baldrick's event. A list of the school's efforts and fundraisers is listed below.
Oswego High School: Monday 18-22 of March, faculty will donate $10 for a week of wearing jeans or $5 for one day. The sophomore class sponsors the event.
Oswego Middle School: The Student Council will be selling stickers and buttons in the cafeteria during lunch to support Team Sadie. The students will be placing donation jars with photos of OMS Students and Faculty members willing to participate in the head shaving in the cafeteria. On the day of the shaving, a hat day will be held with proceeds going to St. Baldrick's Team Sadie.
Frederick Leighton Elementary School: A hat day will be held on the day of March 22 with funds supporting the event.
Charles E. Riley Elementary School: Already held a jeans fundraiser at the school.
Minetto Elementary School: Hat day on March 28 with funds supporting the event.
William Crist, the Oswego City School District Superintendent, is a fellow "shavee" participant. Join his team by visiting the St. Baldrick's website and searching his team name called "Super Team."
"I was approached and considered for a possible shavee position," Bill Crist said. "At the end of this year, I'll be retiring and this event serves as a sort of send off to me. I believe the event will provide and raise funds to help keep the several students of Oswego diagnosed, the ability to keep battling cancer. My team is called the Super Team and I'm looking for more members to join."
The six children battling cancer in the Oswego area are Mary Isgar, Makayla Walker, Sadie Wilson, Julian Ross, Trevor Mercier and Caroline Moch. Teams for the upcoming St. Baldrick's event are hosted by some of these children's families.
Sadie Wilson's team is participating for their first time and has raised $8,000 so far. Wilson's mother, Meghan, plans on shaving her head and helping to continue raising funds. Sadie's twin sister, Layla, will also be participating with the team's funds.
"Sadie was diagnosed with leukemia on June 7, 2012," Meghan Wilson said. "When the doctors told me what Sadie had, all I could think of was why? What? How? What did I do wrong? They told us we did nothing wrong, and it's just a horrible thing that happens sometimes. Sadie got sick very quick and spent the next month in the hospital. Fast forward to today and she is doing amazing. Sadie still has chemo treatment until October of 2014. I hate cancer and I hate the innocent children I have seen die since Sadie's diagnosis."
The family supports the St. Baldrick's event and believes it is an amazing organization working towards finding a cure, according to Meghan.
"I will not sit back and let cancer win," Wilson said. "On March 27, I will shave my head at the St. Baldrick's event here in town. People tend to complain about Oswego but they forget to look at the good. Cancer has made me appreciate life and for that, I am thankful."Wilson said.
Check out Sadie's teams along with the other Oswego children participating in the St. Baldrick's event, March 27. Along with Oswego's head shaving event, the foundation hosts other events like walks and contacting members of Congress. Visit their website, http://www.stbaldricks.org/, or call 1-800-899-BALD to learn how to become a volunteer or participant in any of these events. You can also follow them on Twitter for up to date information- @Stbaldricks; or follow the Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/StBaldricksFoundation.
About St. Baldrick's Foundation
The foundation and its volunteers have been around since 2005. St. Baldrick's raised enough funds for childhood cancer research grants than any other organization besides the U.S. government. According to St. Baldrick's Foundation, 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide and in the U.S., more children die from childhood cancer than any other disease. The program exists to raise funds for Pediatric Oncologists research, technology and more. All the funding from the walks, shaving and other events go towards the most prestigious in childhood cancer research and experts to help better a child's hope for survival.
