Search results matching tags 'Cancer' and 'Charity'

When a Mother Goes Bald

JeanneSager — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:01:00 GMT

I've spent the last month and a half knocking down doors trying to convince a lot of broke people to give me money so I could shave my head.

Even in a bad economy, I hit my small goal of $1,000 raised for the St. Baldrick's Foundation - so you can all laugh at my very bald head.

Ready for it?

Yes, that's me, bald. My head got stuck on my pillow Saturday night, and I can officially clean out from under my nails just by rubbing my fingers across my scalp, but it was worth it.

I'm a hero for kids with cancer. Everyone who shaved their heads during this St. Baldrick's season is a hero. So is everyone who pulled out their wallets and gave - whether it was $1 or $1,00.

In many ways, the smaller amounts meant all that much more - because they came from people I knew were struggling this year. As one fellow shavee told me at a firehouse last week where twenty firemen came together like a true band of brothers and shaved their heads - "people still believe in a good cause."

I walked down the line among men who get out of bed in the middle of the night to rush out in their turnout gear and run into burning buildings, men who are used to ragging on the reporter just because they can, and they were shy, quiet. "Anything for the kids," they admitted. I nodded. "No, anything," one man said, looking me straight in the eye.

Most of us will do anything for their kids. But kids overall? I have to shave my head every year - not because my daughter has cancer (thank goodness) - but because I can't look a sick child in the eyes and not see my daughter standing there. I can't hear the story of a child stricken with a leptomenengial tumor at three and not think, Oh my God, my daughter is only three. I can't turn off the mother in me when I hear about children's cancer.

There are hundreds of other charities - worthy charities - but I'm a parent. So I pick this one. And every year, for as long as I'm still growing hair, I'll give it up, hoping that some day, one day, that $2, $25, $100 I talked out of someone, will change another parent's world.

Want to donate on someone's head? Check out the St. Baldrick's Foundation website and see if anyone you know shaved their head this year.

Shave Your Head, Fight Children's Cancer

JeanneSager — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:33:00 GMT

How much is your hair worth to you? Enough to save a kid's life?

I've got to confess, I've never been one of those women who connected her femininity with the length of her hair. I first shaved my head in high school. When my daughter came along, I realized the shock value of walking around as a woman with short hair was worth something more. I could go down to the scalp for more than just my need to shave minutes off of the morning routine. These days, I shave my head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Founded in 1999 by a bunch of re-insurance agents looking to kick in for a good cause, St. Baldrick's "shaving events" happen every March (and some throughout the year). The premise is simple - people put up pledges that go to the foundation. In return, you shave your head. They laugh. Everyone wins.

So why bother with this one?

I almost look at my yearly head shavings now as good karma. I grow my hair out (the real sacrifice for me) for a few months, then I walk into a room filled with the kind of positive energy you don't encounter much anymore. It's a day when people are thinking about kids. Family members of kids lost to cancer and kids who've survived cancer sit down in chairs beside high school kids who have spent the last few weeks banging down doors for money even knowing the funds raised won't help pay for their trip to Disney World or football uniforms.

And the kids come too. The kids who have survived a fight with cancer. No one wants to see their child fall sick, and staring in the eyes of one of these kids always sends parents of the healthy kids home to wrap them in their arms.

But what does that do? It makes us feel better, but not much else.

So how much is your hair worth? Willing to put it on the line?

If you're not, how about finding a donor event near you and dropping by to meet the kids who make it happen, maybe stashing a little cash in their pot? It's just hair, but this is one of those times bald is absolutely beautiful.

Image: St. Baldrick's Foundation (visit to find a shavee event or search to see if anyone you know is shaving this year)

No, Not Paul Newman Too

trix — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:34:00 GMT

Paul Newman, 83, kept his failing health a secret for quite a while but has now made the statement that he wants to go home to be with his family to die.

Paul is thought to have terminal lung cancer and just finished a round of chemotherapy treatments at a New York hospital. "The word they've been given is that he has only a few weeks to live", a source says.

It has been said that he is getting his finances in order so that his Hole in the Wall camps keep helping kids as well as his Newman's Own line of products keeps raising money for his charity.

Paul's kids are devastated as well as angered by some of the moves he's making. A friend said, "he gave a prized car - a Ferrari with his racing number 82 on it - to a long-time pal. The sudden move angered his children. It's especially hard for them to come to grips with what's going on."

I hope that he isn't suffering and I know that he will be missed.

Source

Photo

Cindy Crawford Visits Hospital, Raising Awareness For Pediatric Cancer

karenrani — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:02:00 GMT

Cindy Crawford has been raising awareness for pediatric cancer for nearly 20 years. She lost her little brother Jeff to leukaemia when he was three years old, 33 years ago. During a recent visit to Wisconsin Children's Hospital, where Jeff stayed all those years ago, Crawford said, "You can't make up for the loss of your brother or sister, no matter what you do. No matter how perfect you are, no matter what good grades you get."

"When I was able to start raising money and awareness, I was able to choose where do I want to give back in my life and this just was the first place that popped into my head."

Do Good: PCRF Holiday Cards

Mir — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:02:00 GMT

Each year the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation produces sets of kid-friendly holiday greeting cards designed by young cancer patients. Proceeds from the sales benefit pediatric cancer research, and are mighty cute, to boot. Set of 12 cards for $12; plenty of options from which to choose.

Ava Cipriani, RIP

Patti — Thu, 10 May 2007 16:45:00 GMT

In January I blogged here about an auction to help offset the medical bills of Ava Cipriani, a three-year-old girl suffering from an aggressive form of cancer called neuroblastoma. I'm sorry to report that Ava passed away last month. I can't even begin to get my head around what her family must be feeling.

To add insult to injury, the Ciprianis are still in the hole for massive medical costs relating to Ava's treatment. Don't even get me started on the state of healthcare in the United States; instead, I'd rather focus on how amazing some individuals are. I know nothing about Ally and Larry Cipriani, but I can guess that they must be incredibly cool people indeed because of the way their community has rallied around them in this darkest time. First the auction in January, and the latest example is a series of teeshirts being produced by 70 Star 7, an organization that screenprints shirts with unique and beautiful designs by various artists and donates a significant portion of the proceeds from each limited-edition run to the charity of the artist's choice. Several artists are on board to support A Wish For Ava (Henry "H" Lichtmann's already got a couple of designs up on the 70*7 site), and a special child-sized shirt and hoodie from Kathie Olivas will be available soon at LA's Monkeyhouse Toys.

I can't really think of a better legacy than having people love you and your family so much that they're willing to put their hearts into doing whatever needs to be done to help you.

(via boingboing)

Search results matching tags 'Cancer' and 'Charity'

When a Mother Goes Bald

Spurred to Action by Natasha Richardson's Death, Parents Save Girl

Update: Little Boy Dies of Untreated Cancer

Motherless Baby Breastfed By Six Women Each Day

Shave Your Head, Fight Children's Cancer

Mom on Experimental Kidney Donation: Not as Bad as Childbirth

Kid Dies After Parents Said No to Hib Vaccine

Can Your Kid Doodle the Google Doodle?

Is It Wrong for Parents to Sell Girl Scout Cookies for their Daughters?

No, Not Paul Newman Too

Cindy Crawford Visits Hospital, Raising Awareness For Pediatric Cancer

Do Good: PCRF Holiday Cards

Ava Cipriani, RIP