RVC St. Baldrick’s fundraiser goes remote

Every year for the past 17 years, Rockville Centre community members have looked forward to the annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving event to raise money for pediatric cancer research. While the public gathering has been canceled this year due to concerns over the coronavirus, volunteers can still participate by visiting salons of their choice over the next few months and donating to the organization.

Held each year on the same day as the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the fundraiser brings together people of all ages who choose to shave their heads or chop their ponytails as a symbol of solidarity with children who lose their hair to cancer treatments. Participants can now choose a time when they feel comfortable visiting a hair salon, and participate virtually.

Rockville Centre resident John Bender founded St. Baldrick’s in 1999 with two friends, Tim Kenny and Enda McDonnell, as part of their mission to give back to society. On St. Patrick’s Day 2000, they shaved a few heads to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer, and the event caught on. This would have been its 17th year held at St. Agnes Parish Center in Rockville Centre. Held each year on the same day as the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the fundraiser brings together people of all ages who choose to shave their heads or chop their ponytails as a symbol of solidarity with children who lose their hair to cancer treatments.

According to Bender, the goal of the foundation is to fill the gap in funding allocated by the United States government to pediatric cancer research; only 4 percent of the government’s cancer research funding goes specifically to pediatric cancer research. To date, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an independent nonprofit, has allocated more than $282 million in research grants to 376 institutions in 29 countries. . Some local hospitals currently receiving St. Baldrick’s research grants include Winthrop, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, Mt. Sinai, Weill Cornell, NYU Langone, Montefiore, Maimonides, and Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

Over $24 million in St Baldrick’s grants were awarded in 2019 alone. Bender said that St Baldrick’s-funded-research has significantly improved survival rates of several pediatric cancers, accelerated discoveries in rare cancers, increased the number of patients in and closer access to clinical trials. In addition, its fellowship program ensures that there are future experts in the field of child oncology. St Baldrick’s advocacy efforts have helped avoid shortages of child cancer drugs and pass legislation to allocate more funding for palliative and survivorship care for pediatric cancer patients.  

The RVC St. Baldrick’s fundraiser honors several local children each year who have battled or currently battling childhood cancer. This year, Kimiko Schroder, the niece of Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray, Mary Ruchalski, Gabriella Pellicani and Anthony Petrocelli, who all died within the last two years, are being remembered. Donations can be made at stbaldricks.org, through the St. Agnes Parish Center page.

“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still much further to go in saving every child and making sure survivors live long, healthy lives without long term side effects from the treatments used to save them,” Bender said. “We’ll keep having St. Baldrick’s events, fundraising and raising awareness as long as cures still need to be found. One in five kids won’t survive a cancer diagnosis in the U.S. and most survivors will have chronic health problems by age 50. St Baldrick’s is working hard to improve existing treatments so every child can be saved and live long, healthy lives.”