Shears to you! Dozens ‘raze’ to occasion for St. Baldrick’s

Shavers and shavees were abuzz with excitement last Saturday afternoon at the Capt. Hiram’s Sand Bar during the seventh annual Indian River Braves the Shave to benefit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Honored children arrived amid flashing lights and blaring sirens, escorted by first responders, with children waving from the cab of the firetruck, appearing not to have a care in the world. In reality, a child is diagnosed with cancer every two minutes. One in five of those children will lose their lives to cancer, the No. 1 cause of death among children.

Event organizers Missy Elward and Frank Mannino have held the mantra “Until no child has to suffer” close to their hearts, working year after year to raise awareness and funds in support of childhood cancer research.

After the last of more than 100 heads was shorn Saturday, the Indian River group had raised more than $140,000, exceeding this year’s goal by $40,000 and getting that much closer to the $1 million mark.

Earlier, a piper led a parade of honored children and their families to the center stage, where they joined volunteer shavers to kick off the afternoon’s festivities. But before Elward decreed “Let the shaving begin,” Sir Mannino announced that in this, the Year of the Knight, those royal subjects who have participated for seven years were to be “knighted” for their dedication and service to the cause.

And who better to bestow the accolade upon these valiant warriors than Princeton Bryan, one of St. Baldrick’s honoree children and one of the lucky few to have beaten cancer. Bryan dubbed the knights, one after the other with a noble countenance as was their due.

It was two years ago that young Jackson Hunter lost his battle with leukemia, and this year’s Brave the Shave happened to fall on his birthday. His parents, Regina and Eric Hunter, shared the story of their brave little boy’s fight.

“Today would have been our son Jackson’s ninth birthday, but he’ll forever be 7. We’re not sad today because we were so lucky to have him in our life,” Regina Hunter told the crowd. “Let’s just think about these kids and the life that they should lead. This is about hope.”

She noted that St. Baldrick’s had been a big part of Jackson’s story.

“Even though our son didn’t make it, because of St. Baldrick’s he was alive to have a promising treatment called CAR T-cell therapy. He got it as a trial and St. Baldrick’s helped fund that. We would have lost him a lot sooner without that chance. So your money does make a huge difference, and it is saving lives.”

Elward told the crowd that less than 4 percent of National Cancer Institute funding goes toward childhood cancer research, adding, “We need to find more cures for childhood cancer. We only have three drugs that were actually FDA approved in the last 22 years just for children. It’s not enough.”

For more information, visit stbaldricks.org.

Photos by: Kaila Jones
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