Ann and Kyle Wald with Suzy Dupuis [Photo: Denise Ritchie]

Strong men and women, cheered on by their supportive families and friends, came out in full force for some friendly competitions last Saturday afternoon to raise funds for children’s cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

This is the fourth year that St. Baldrick’s, the International Association of Firefighters Local 2201 and Walking Tree Brewery have teamed up to host this fun-filled family day to raise awareness and support for the discovery of promising cures for childhood cancer.

“We only hold two events a year,” said event organizer Missy Elward. “We host this family truck pull and family water day in the fall, so that everyone in the community can learn about what we do and contribute in a small way. Then in March we hold our big head-shaving fundraiser.”

To date, those combined events have generated more than $150,000 for the nonprofit organization.

Participants in a Strong Man competition first muscled up to show off their prowess by competing solo on a challenging course of events. Tasks included pushing a tank weighing in at 270 pounds with the added weight of a grown man sitting atop it; a hand-over-hand sled pull; a farmers walk while toting 270 pounds – 135-pound weights in each hand; a sandbag challenge, which had them hoisting sandbags weighing 50, 100, 150 and 200 pounds onto a 4-foot wall; and pulling a 5,300-pound SUV.

Teams of up to seven competed in the truck pull, using their might to pull a 43,000-pound firetruck. The winner of the Strong Man competition was Robert Dixon, and the Indian River Rugby Raptors maintained their winning streak, besting all foes in the firetruck pull for the fourth year in a row.

Meanwhile, youngsters cooled down while frolicking on the water slides, played in bounce houses and jumped from wading pool to wading pool under the watchful eyes of their parents.

St. Baldrick’s began in 2000 with three men in Manhattan challenging each other on St. Patrick’s Day to go bald as a way to raise money for childhood cancer research. The name is derived from the day – St. Patrick’s – and the word bald.

From those humble beginnings, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation has become the biggest funders of childhood cancer research grants. Donations are invested with researchers at hundreds of institutions worldwide to find leading cures for childhood cancer. Worldwide, 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year – one nearly every two minutes. In the U.S. more children die from childhood cancer than any other disease.

For more information, visit stbaldricks.org.