Saddleback College community to ‘Shave Against Cancer’
Dressing up for Halloween this year can be more meaningful by participating in a “Shave Against Cancer” event at Saddleback College to raise funds in the fight against pediatric cancer.
The event will take place Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the main quad.
Cancer kills more children than any other disease or life-threatening illness combined, and St. Baldrick’s Foundation wants to help fight cancer by raising funds and awareness at Saddleback College.
“My son is fighting brain cancer and pediatric cancers in total receive less than four percent of all national governmental research funds,” said Audra DiPadova, director of student life. “It’s incredibly inadequate. We need more funding for essential research to find cures.”
An amount of $27,226.25 was raised last year on campus with over 88 people participating in the shave portion of the event. This year, the Student Development office is looking to exceed such victory.
“Our Saddleback College community has the power to make a tremendous difference for kids fighting cancer,” DiPadova said.
The Student Development office at Saddleback will host a day-long relay dance marathon to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancers, and at the same time gather together to build community. The rules state that there must be at least two people on a team and one person dancing on the floor at all times to be eligible to win a prize.
Some students would rather shave their heads for the largest fundraiser for pediatric cancer research in the nation.
“It’s awesome to see the Saddleback community coming together, once again, to rally around such an important cause,” said Abigail Freeman, outreach and youth leadership coordinator for MaxLove Project. “I’m shaving again because I’m surrounded by incredible children and [know the] stories of their battles. I also know there’s still a large gap in funding and this event is another step toward our goal of funding crucial research for our kids.”
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity that has funded more than $127 million to support some of the most well-known childhood cancer research experts in the world. Partnering with Saddleback also creates awareness in Orange County.
“This is where St. Baldrick’s Foundation comes in as the largest non-governmental funder of pediatric cancer research. Cancer is the No. 1 disease killer of American kids,” DiPadova said.
Teams must register to participate at [email protected]
Donate to the event at: http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/11031/2014
