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Cops, athletes lose hair to fight kids' cancers

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Contributed by: Daniel Smith, YourHub.com on 3/19/2007

The shavers buzzed, hair flew, a few tears were shed and the room rang with laughter as the Douglas County Sheriff's Office hosted a St. Baldrick's event to raise funds for research to fight childhood cancer on March 16.

Dozens of volunteers, led by sheriff Dave Weaver, were shorn bald or nearly so and raised more than $45,000 at last count. This St. Baldrick's event was held in memory of Isabella Ackerson, daughter of DCSO Investigator Niles Ackerson, who lost her battle with leukemia at just six months of age, just after Christmas last year. The original plan had been to raise about $5,000 with about 20 people getting shaved. More than 100 shavers, shavees and barbers eventually took part at the Douglas County Justice Center.

Participants agree to have their heads shaved for donations in sympathy for those who deal with the most stigmatizing impact of the disease - losing one's hair after chemotherapy treatment.

Weaver, who was to be the first head-shaving victim, won a brief reprieve when an additional thousand dollars in contributions was added to the fund drive to spare him. But later Weaver went under the shaver when yet another thousand dollars was added to to the campaign - on condition the audience see him in the barber's chair.

Initially, Weaver wielded a shaver on the head of NFL player Sean Tufts, of the Carolina Panthers, whose own father is battling leukemia. The sheriff had asked that some hair be left on his own head. There was - but very little.

Weaver said later he looked just like pictures of himself with his summer 'buzz cut' as a kid. His wife, Mona, told YourHub.com later she loved his new look, and added, "I'm glad that he did it for the kids."

Other members of the department, the Colorado Springs Police Department, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's office and caring civilians marched to the stage in the Christensen Justice Center jury assembly room to lose their hair for a decidedly good cause. The room was packed and the audience jammed up to the stage with members of the media to get pictures of the event.

One highlight was the painful but humorous contribution of Sam Wilder, offensive tackle for the champion Indianapolis Colts and former Colorado Buffalo.

The six-foot-five, 295-pound tackle grimaced, yelled and bit down on his jersey as his chest hair was waxed and them removed repeatedly in strips - a choice he consciously made over having his head shaved. At one point, Wilder turned totwo of his St. Baldrick's participants and said "Dude, you don't know how much that hurts!"

The presentation, hosted by DCSO Lt. Brian Murphy, had its somber moments as well, including when Niles and Janine Ackerson were presented with a jersey from the Colorado Avalanche inscribed with their daughter's name, Izzy.

Mrs. Ackerson spoke briefly about how thankful she and her husband were for the short time they had with their daughter and how grateful they were that funds to fight cancer were being raised in Izzy's memory.

At the event's start, the audience roared when Denver Broncos center, Tom Nalen took the shaver and began whittling at the head of Dawn Lynn, a former deputy and main "hair stylist."

Other NFL alumni attending were Leroy Mitchell, Doug Widell and Ken Lanier.
Organizers agreed that next year, they'd have to have a larger venue for the event.
The event was born on St. Patrick's Day, 1999, when three friends, Tim Kenny, John Bender and Enda McDonnell turned the St. Paddy's party at a Manhattan pub into a benefit for kids and teens with cancer. They hoped to raise $17,000 on that March 17 by having 17 colleagues raise a thousand dollars each in pledges to have their heads shaved - instead, the event raised over $100,000. St. Baldrick's, represented by a fictional character in the form of a bald leprechaun, is an event held all across the country as well as foreign countries to help in the fight against childhood cancers.

To date in 2007, more than $6,000,000 has been raised in various St. Baldrick's events. For more information on St. Baldrick's, go to their Web site at
stbaldricks.org.

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