“Worldwide every 3 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer. In the United States, 1 in 5 children diagnosed will not survive. Of those who survive, 2 out of 3 will suffer long-term effects from treatment.” Those statistics, provided by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, are the reason why Coronado’s Boy Scout Troop 806 participates in St. Baldrick’s annual Head-Shaving Event. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, second only to the U.S. government, is the “largest funder of childhood cancer research grants.” Troop 806 is trying to make a difference in the world by helping St. Baldrick’s conquer childhood cancers. To date the troop has raised over $20,000!
April 11, 2016 marked the fifth consecutive year that members of Troop 806 shaved their heads. Since they started doing this back in 2012, Beth Abate, who has been the owner of Bow Ties & Haircuts Barber Shop for twenty-five years, has, with open arms, welcomed the troop, providing free head-shaving to the brave Boy Scouts who volunteer to go bald or get buzz cuts. “I love doing it. I think it’s really fun, and it’s an honor to be part of this, and help contribute to research for kids with cancer. We love it. We really look forward to this,” Abate said. At the end of the event, Troop 806 presented Abate with a plaque which read, “We appreciate your dedication to conquer childhood cancers,” and as Abate graciously accepted the plaque, you could tell she was humbled by the round of applause from those who packed her barber shop, and the smile on her face said it all.
Ten of the members of Troop 806, which is led by Scoutmaster Glenn Hopson, braved the shave, and Assistant Scoutmaster Russ Wygal did as well. Parents, siblings, and members of the Coronado community looked on with a sense of merriment and admiration as locks and locks of hair fell to the black and white checkered floor. Hopson, who has served as Scoutmaster to Troop 806 for about two and a half years, complimented Dr. Joanne McManaman for the boys’ involvement with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. McManaman, who is a retired Navy physician and is now a pediatric oncologist at Kaiser Permanente, is the mother to one of the Boy Scouts in Troop 806, Garrick Sutton. Hopson said, “Dr. McManaman has been a fantastic part of the troop. She’s really gotten the boys engaged to do what’s a really important community fundraising activity.”
How did Dr. McManaman get the Boy Scouts involved with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation? She said, “The first year we were trying to find a community service activity for the boys.” They liked the idea of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation as a way to honor boys in the Coronado community who had cancer. She explained, “The first year one of their [Troop 806’s] good friends had Stage IV lymphoma. He was one of our honored guests. One of the doctors on the Island lost her son to cancer when he was four years of age, and we dedicated our fundraising in his honor. If you go on our webpage, you’ll see their pictures are still up there. I love doing it because it’s something I’m very passionate about. What’s great about St. Baldrick’s is the money that they raise comes right back to the community. Last year Rady Children’s Hospital got $50,000, and the Naval Hospital got $3,500. They’re not raising it for this cause where they’ll never see that money again.” The majority of the funds raised for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation goes straight to cancer research.
Bow Ties & Haircuts Barber Shop owner Beth Abate, along with barbers Travis Pugh and Julie [last name withheld per request], clearly had fun during the head-shaving process as did the shavees. Everyone was all smiles, and Pugh made people laugh with the creative ways he went about the head-shaving process.
One interesting aspect of the head-shaving process was that the boys were all seated with their faces away from the mirrors. Everyone in the crowd watched and chuckled as full heads of hair disappeared, and it was entertaining watching the shavees’ reactions when they were finished, when they finally had a chance to look at the mirrors to see their new and improved selves.
Scoutmaster Hopson promised Troop 806 that if he could get five of the Boy Scouts to shave their heads, he would personally donate $100, and if six of them did it, he would donate $150. Troop 806 surpassed his expectations, and he remarked, “It looks like I’m going to be paying up!”
While not every Boy Scout in Troop 806 shaved his head, even those who didn’t brave the shave contributed to the troop’s fundraising success. Troop members who didn’t shave their heads walked around outside of the barber shop seeking donations. They collected cash and coins in a St. Baldrick’s bucket, and sold green St. Baldrick’s bracelets that had “Conquer Childhood Cancers” written on them for a suggested donation of $1.00. Green balloons representing the St. Baldrick’s Foundation drew the attention of those walking past, and several people popped in to take a peek at the fun head-shaving going on inside as they made generous donations. The Boy Scouts passed out homemade cake pops and cupcakes to thank contributors.
The Boy Scouts in Troop 806 weren’t the only ones who shaved their heads. Three other people who aren’t part of the Boy Scout troop, but still wanted to help raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation also showed up for the event. Steven Ruiz, who raised $300 online, was the first person of the night to shave his head. Why did he do it? “I feel like I’m limited by what I can do to help, but I’ll do whatever I can do, such as donating some money and shaving some hair. Whatever I can do, I’ll do it. This is for children, and I’m all about helping the youth. When I was young, I was hoping there were people out there doing stuff for me, and now that I’m a little older and wiser, it’s time for me to start giving back.”
Father and son pair Joe Weingarten and Lucas, who are related to one of the Boy Scouts in Troop 806, both shaved their heads. This marked the fourth occasion that Weingarten shaved his head for St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Weingarten, who is in the Navy, said he had participated in in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Head-Shaving event when he was stationed in Illinois. Weingarten shared that he was diagnosed with leukemia when he was fifteen years old, and as a cancer survivor himself, he understood first hand what a good cause Troop 806’s fundraising was. Lucas, age 3, stole the show, sitting absolutely still as Julie shaved his head, and his reaction to seeing his new look was utterly adorable.
The Coronado Junior Woman’s Club arrived at the barber shop during the head-shaving party to present a generous check in the amount of $500 to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Their presence added extra joy to an already wonderful evening, and it was evident that the boys truly appreciated that the Coronado Junior Woman’s Club came to their event. Another Coronado organization, the Knights of Columbus, also made a sizable donation to Troop 806’s St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser at an earlier date.
Boy Scout Sawyer Eader’s face was lit up throughout the event. He said that getting his head shaved made him “super happy.” Scoutmaster Hopson explained how Sawyer had been working on his Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge. “As part of that, Sawyer needed to volunteer eight hours for an organization, and he picked St. Baldrick’s. He went out of his way to prepare a speech, and spoke to the Coronado Lion’s Club. He got a large donation from them. He got several other donations from folks, including a Rotary Club member, and is going to get the Merit Badge based on his great performance raising money for a great organization like St. Baldrick’s,” Hopson said.
After thirteen heads were shaved, and the event was coming to a close, Boy Scout Garrick Sutton, who had now shaved his head five times for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, thanked all of those who made the fundraiser a success. Troop 806 raised over $4,000 this year. Sutton presented a green St. Baldrick’s shirt to fellow Boy Scout Emil Henrich’s mother Olivia, who is courageously fighting cancer herself. The crowd erupted in applause, and it was a poignant moment for sure, seeing how much love and support surrounded the Henrichs.
The first thing you see when you visit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation webpage is the short, but sweet statement, “Kids are special. We treat them that way.” The City of Coronado should be very proud of the young men in Boy Scout Troop 806, who are special in their own right, and collectively have done so much to ensure that research continues to conquer childhood cancers. It’s always heartwarming to see this community come together, and watching the Boy Scouts, barbers, participants, volunteers, and contributors rally around such a worthy cause reaffirmed why the Crown City is a remarkable place.
