Crown Point supports St. Baldrick’s Day

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Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist, left, Crown Point Mayor Dave Uran, center, and Hammond Mayor Thomes McDermott Jr., right, sit in barbers chairs and have their heads shaved for the St. Baldrick's fundraiser on Thursday, March17, 2011 at the Crown Point Fire Department. The Mayors had their heads shaved to support cancer research and awareness. | Scott R. Brandush~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 7, 2012 2:42PM

CROWN POINT — St. Baldrick’s Head Shaving will take place again this year on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

The great shave-off will be at the Crown Point Fire Station in the ambulance bay. Shaving starts at 1 p.m. with the Mayor’s Challenge first.

With enough barbers it should end by 3 p.m. Then everyone can go over to the engine bay for corned-beer-and-cabbage dinner with entertainment by the Band of Brothers Pipe and Drum Band made up of firefighters from both Indiana and Illinois.

The square will be alive with activities all afternoon, with vendors getting everyone in the mood to celebrate.

The activities are not just party, party, party. The shaving of heads for St. Baldrick’s Day is very serious business. This now 12-year-old program started when some insurance industry executives in New York turned their St. Patrick’s Day party into this head-shaving event to benefit kids with cancer.

They started with just 20 “shavee” recruits and planned to raise $17,000. They raised more than $104,000.

The movement grew quickly into the world’s largest volunteer-driven fund-raising program for childhood cancer research thanks in large part to fire fighters across the country. Today the St. Baldrick’s Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U. S. government.

Once again Crown Point Fire Department Lt. Tim Martin is the organizer here in the city.

“I haven’t had a haircut since just before Thanksgiving,” said Martin.

There are a number of women participating this year as well. From short hair to long it all will go. Some just end up with what looks like a buzz cut, others have gone all the way and head their heads shaves so they needed to be polished.

As the hair falls, the money comes in to help fight kids cancers.

“Our goal in 2011 was $10,000 and we raised over $38,000,” Martin said. “Our goal is $50,000 for this year.”

In the Mayor’s Challenge, Hammond’s mayor Tom McDermott and will again be participating and possibly Lake Station’s mayor Keith Soderquist will also, especially since they now have the attention of the national office of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

“We are so grateful to have the support of the Crown Point Fire Department, Mayor Dave Uran and the entire Crown Point community,” said Kathleen Ruddy, executive director for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “Raising more than $38,000 as a community in 2011 for life-saving research, their fund-raising efforts have helped move us one step closer to finding cures for childhood cancers. We are in awe of their commitment to the cause and their creative approaches to get others involved in the fight to conquer kids’ cancer — it’s sure to be another year of tremendous achievements,” said Ruddy.

With 23 shavee’s already signed up the CPFD venue has raised $835. Everyone’s help is needed. So far the teams are: Crown Point Emergency Management, Crown Point Fire-Rescue, Lake Central Indians, Lake Street Elementary School, Making A Difference and Team Bednarek, and this doesn’t even include the individual mayors’ teams.

Uran said, “Any time we can bring Northwest Indiana together for our kids and to fight cancer is good. This brings out the (mayors’) competitive spirit and it is to raise money for the kids.”

Anyone interested in participating should call Uran’s office, 662-3240. Bring in your own team or join one of the existing teams.