I’m going to be in Chicago 5 days from this very moment getting ready for the Donna’s Good things St. Baldrick’s event. Then I’mma be bald shortly after that. Yikes.
Not to mention all of the awesome peoples I’ll be meeting! I should totally be more nervous about it, but for some reason I’m not. Maybe it will suddenly hit me once I’m sitting in that chair, clippers buzzing behind me. Maybe not.
For those of you who don’t know about it (shame on you), St. Baldrick’s is a charity that raises funds for pediatric cancer research. They hold events all over the country in any city or town where someone wants to stand up and make a difference in the lives of many. St. Baldrick’s gives a shit-ton of money to the people in charge of finding treatments and hopefully one day a cure, for pediatric cancers.
Donna’s Good Things has teamed up with St. Baldrick’s for an amazing event in Chicago on Saturday. See, what St. Baldrick’s does is raise money by shaving people’s heads. Well, the foundation doesn’t do that, volunteers do that. People can volunteer to have their heads shaved and to shave heads and to help out in whatever way they can at these “Shave-a-thons”. They hold the events at pubs and restaurants and fun, social-type places and people are welcome to come and watch and donate more money to the brave souls who are going bald by choice.
Doesn’t that sound crazy?! People just deciding that they WANT to be bald. Just to stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer. To show those kids that someone cares and wants to let them know that they are not alone. Crazy to some, inspiring to others.
And we are in such amazing company, too! Since signing up to be a shavee for St. Baldrick’s, people have been coming out of the woodwork with their stories of going bald for St. Baldrick’s (here’s one from Mackenzie of Bright Strange Things who went bald in September!) and people with the stories of their incredibly brave kids who have been fighting for their lives against that cursed beast; cancer. These people all have stories to tell about how cancer has affected their lives. Some stories are made of twists and turns and recovery and some of tragedy and sadness, but all have one thing in common: Hope.
That is what St. Baldrick’s gives people. That is why my husband and I and so many others have chosen to go bald by choice. Four days from today, I will be on my way to Chicago to start this adventure and I couldn’t be more excited.
There’s the most incredible group of people who will be changing their lives with me at the shave-a-thon- Oh em gee! So many awesome people to meet for the first time in person! There’s going to be the obvious, Mary Tyler Mom, whose daughter, Donna, is the reason for the event and the reason I am involved at all. Again, if you don’t know about Donna, (shame on you) you should get to know a bit about her and her lovely mother by reading Donna’s Cancer Story here.
We’ll also be meeting Katy of I want a Dumpster Baby, Deb of The Monster in Your Closet; who also joined mine and Chris’s team to have her head shaved AND who is flying all the way from L.A! (Awesome!) Also there will be Nikki of Moms Who Drink and Swear (Seriously!) and so many other amazing, wonderful people that I’ve met since starting my fb page. A lovely woman named Shannon and her wife are coming all the way from Georgia!
So excited and happy and nervous and blessed! We are all so lucky to have this opportunity, thanks to the inspiration we found through Mary Tyler Mom and Donna. My life is so much richer just knowing them all on facebook! Getting to meet them in person and experiencing something like this right along side them is going to push my gratitude levels off the charts! My head just might explode from all the joy!
Being able to do something like this and really make a difference is just amazing to me. I feel so overwhelmed with emotions that I can’t even express properly. Just know that this is a life-changing thing for me; and not just because I’m going to be bald.
I am 36 years old and the only good thing I’ve ever done is become a mom; and I’m not even very good at that. But this- this event is HUGE. I am raising money that will go directly to fund research for children’s cancer. This will help others. Many others. That is amazing to me. And no amount of hair is going to ever mean as much to me as what this event will mean to so many people.
You can still help make this event even more amazing by donating your money, time, and/or resources. Donate directly to my team, Blissfully Bald, here. If you want to join the team and get your head shaved, it’s not too late. If you live in or near Chicago, you can always come down to the Candlelite and volunteer your time. You can come and be there to support me and 40 other brave, wonderful people who will be bald by the end of the day.
Bring tissues. I’m sure we won’t have enough for all the crying that is sure to take place. Not over our lost locks though, the tears will be coming from the joy and excitement of the day and from the sadness of the memory of the little girl who inspired it all. It seems so unfair that the only way most of us can know Donna is through memories shared by the people who were graced by her short time here. Her beautiful parents and their friends and family.
I think of her her often, and I never met her in this life. Imagine how her family feels to have lost such a shining, glorious girl.
Let’s make a difference. Let’s make sure there are fewer families missing their babies because of cancer. You can donate and find other ways to help here.
Oh, and let’s go shopping for awesome hats and scarves and other head gear! Summer’s coming, and I do not want to know what it’s like to have a sunburnt scalp!
Joyously awaiting the 24th!
~Karin
Great post, my love. What you said. All of it. Well, minus the scarves. I already have a hat.
Have I told you lately how much I admire you for doing this?
Thanks, baby. What you said. XoXoXo
You have beautiful hair, I hope it’s going to make a beautiful wig for a child also? Y’all rock!
I hope so, too! Dang. That’s what I had been meaning to find out about! I want to donate it! Thanks for reminding me, Mary! And thank you for reading and commenting!
It has to be a certain length, but if your hair isn’t long enough for Locks of Love (www.locksoflove.org) then maybe take a look at Pantene’s similar program, because I think they accept slightly shorter lengths of hair. (http://www.pantene.com/en-us/beautiful-lengths-cause)
And here’s a protip for you… make sure the organizers of the event know that people want to donate their hair also, or show up with your own scissors and some hair bands. Oddly enough, at my event it hadn’t even occurred to anyone that some of us might want to donate our hair, and though there were enough girls in the bar to scrounge up plenty of hair bands, we had a ridiculous time finding scissors. The shaver hadn’t even brought any, he figured all he needed was his clippers. ;D
Great post, K… but I’d have to argue with you about the idea that you’ve never done anything good except being a mom. (And isn’t that alone hard enough? :D) When I think of all the things my friends have done for me, right down to just sitting and listening supportively when I needed them to, I have a hard time imagining you aren’t doing good things every day, whether you realize it or not. 🙂
Thanks so much, Mackenzie! For reading and commenting and all the helpful tips and info. 🙂 Should I call St. B’s then, and tell them I want to donate my hair, or just show up with scissors? I was always under the impression that if one was donating hair that some representative had to be present to collect the hair.
I’m sure I have enough to donate!
Thank you also for the kind words. I know there’s been more good things done by me than that, but depression doesn’t let me believe it a lot of the time. I am so glad that I’ve gotten to know you a bit because of Deb. You pretty much rock. xoxo
Excellent, amazing post, Karin! I wish we could be there for the big event.
Aww…thank you so much, Denise. It would be amazing if you guys were there! You know, you could drive to Chicago! It’s only a 5 hour drive and all. 😉
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Love you lots!
You rock. 🙂
Thanks, Lisha! You rock, too! XoXo
Wow! Your hair is going to make one beautiful wig! It’s so great that you all are doing this. I am so excited for you and both of you will be in my thoughts next week! Can’t wait to hear how it all goes.
Thanks, Currie Rose! I do hope my hair goes to a good place. I’m tired of it anyway. Maybe someone else will like having it. 🙂 I’m pretty excited, too! Only 5 more days until the big shave!
As usual, you brought me to tears. Thank you for your sacrifice.
I don’t know how to say this properly, without it coming out wrong, so bear with me. Among all my cancer mom friends (and I have a LOT of cancer mom friends!) one of the things that truly amazes us the most is when someone whose life has not been directly affected by childhood cancer gets involved. It is not the cause of the week; the bandwagon that everyone is jumping on. It doesn’t make sense that it’s so hard to get people involved, even in the cancer community. For some reason, the kids come last. It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. In every other part of our society, the children come first. Anyway, that makes it that much more meaningful when people grab onto the cause, and especially when they DO something!
Thank you, and your husband, for DOING something!
I don’t even think I’m fierce enough to shave my head, and I live right, smack in the middle of Cancerville.
You are fierce, Wendy. You stay strong for your son every day. Truly, if my son got cancer I’d lose my shit.
I am so touched that my little blog could move you to tears. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it and leave such a thoughtful comment. It means a lot more than you know.
It makes no sense to me that kids are the ones who get the short end of the stick when it comes to cancer funding and research. Someone has to take a stand, and for some reason, this is the cause that speaks to me the most.
Thank you again for being here and for always being so open and honest. You are a true rock star, mama! XoXoXo
Karin, I wish you well as you undertake this powerful experience. It is a blessing that you are undertaking for such a wonderful cause. Best wishes. –J
Thank you so much, Dude! I am pretty excited about it. It’s a cause that needs more attention and I want to be a part of raising awareness.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I’m sure there will be a follow-up post all about the big shave!
I’m sure you are having quite an experience in Chicago. Looking forward to reading all about it.
It was fantastic and surreal. Magical. I’ll be writing about it soon!
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I cannot imagine the emotions that surrounded you and all those involved on this enormous act of giving. I had just heard about this last week – from my 14 yr old who was telling me about this ‘awesome charity event’ then my youngest wanted to know if she could do it and then buy a dozen hats 😉
Thanks for reading and commenting! She doesn’t really need hats! I thought I’d want to wear them, but I only do when it’s cold. 🙂 I love being bald. Well, not really bald anymore, but my hair is pretty dang short!
Thanks again and I hope you’ll come back soon. I’m publishing a new post today!
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