The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long, healthy lives. They do this through fundraising events all over the world. In the United States, more children die of cancer than any other disease. Since its humble beginnings in the early 2000s, St. Baldrick’s has funded over 154 million dollars in research grants to fight childhood cancer, second in the world only to the U.S. Government. There are several venues in Raleigh where “shaves” can participate and The Factory is one of the largest. This event is hosted by the Bald Dollars, a group of local men who have been shaving their heads since 2008.

Corporate trainer and leadership consultant Chris Wright was the first of this group to participate.

“I was with a group in downtown Raleigh in March of 2007 and took a pit stop in the men’s room at Napper Tandy’s,” said Wright. “While in there, I read a poster on the wall promoting a ‘St. Baldrick’s’ shaving event scheduled for the following Saturday. Several of the men agreed that we would come back to raise money and shave at the event. As it turns out, I was the only one who ended up doing it that year and raised $1200 in one week. Once everyone witnessed me doing it, they all committed to join in the following year.”

When the “Bald Dollars” team first started, they would go downtown where there was an event hosted at the Hibernian. Once the team got too big, they decided to host their own event.

“In 2010, our team had grown to sixty ‘shavees,’” said Wright. “It became a bit unwieldy to organize at an event in downtown Raleigh. The logistics of transporting and corralling sixty people at a Pub (the Hibernian) became challenging so we thought it would be best for us to host our own in Wake Forest.”

Participating in and hosting this event is important to Wright because he has seen what the effects of cancer can be.

“A close family friend who I grew up with died of Lymphoma,” said Wright. “The memories of his brave battle and how it changed the lives of his family members are so vivid in my memory.”

For Wright, these memories motivate him to get people to raise money to help this cause.

“The money raised at our St. Baldrick’s events go to fund research and development programs at places like UNC and Duke’s pediatric cancer centers,” said Wright. “ Not only does it help fund local hospitals, it also brings the Wake Forest community together for a common cause.”

One person that Wright has inspired to participate is his son, senior, Nevin Wright.

“This year was my seventh year,” said Nevin. “It makes me realize how grateful I am to live such a healthy life. What makes this event so special is raising as much money as we can to help fund the research to find the cure for childhood cancer.”

St. Baldrick’s is a well-known event for students at Wakefield. Assistant Principal Eric Betheil promotes St. Baldrick’s around the school.

“It’s about getting out in the community and giving back,” said Betheil. “In Wakefield and the surrounding areas, they do so much for the high school. Trying to get out and do what we can, not just in Wakefield but in other areas as well, helps.”

According to Betheil, being involved in these events is an important experience for students.

“Participating in any event like this is good for kids in high school or college to build a certain character and move forward,” said Betheil.

St. Baldrick’s raises the spirits of those who are able to participate. One participant in particular that can relate to this is junior Taha Mirmozaffari, who participated in 2014.

“It made me feel proud of myself that I did something good,” said Mirmozaffari. “A lot of people were telling me to do St. Baldrick’s and that I would raise a lot of money so I put my goal at $1000. I didn’t think I would make it but I did. Wakefield helped a lot, including my soccer team.”

The Wakefield community was extremely supportive when word got out that Taha was planning to shave his trademark afro.

“The administrators announced it over the intercom a few times. My most generous donation was from my friend, Joseph Robin’s, family. While getting my head shaved I looked like I was scared due to shaking but I really wasn’t scared. It really was worth it; I would definitely recommend it.”

Even though there was not a very big turnout from Wakefield staff or students this year, Betheil plans to start the fundraising earlier next year in order to raise not only money, but awareness.

“You don’t have to shave your head in order to be involved,” said Betheil. “You can still raise money or help out with the event and that’s what a lot of people don’t realize.”

The ‘Bald Dollars’ team have raised over $700,000 since they started; and they plan to continue to raise even more.

“I continue to do this for three main reasons,” said Wright. “I know it’s real because I get to actually meet the brave kids battling cancer at these events. You get to see the actual people who gain the benefits of what we’re doing. It’s easy and fun; my hair growing back is the least of my worries. It’s more than a way to earn community service hours; the event is about learning how to have real impacts on the lives of others.”