The annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser, set for March 14 at Amalfi’s Kitchen & Bar at 146 Lawrenceville-Pennington Road, has been canceled at the request of the Lawrence Township Health Department.
The request was made in response to concerns about the potential spread of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. The announcement was made on the Lawrenceville St. Baldrick’s Facebook page.
Participants shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research. This year’s crop of “shavees” had already raised more than $114,000 in pledges, exceeding the goal of raising $75,000.
“We are, of course, so disappointed,” the event organizers, Drs. Melissa and Michael McCue, wrote on the Facebook page.
But there are other options for participants to fulfill their pledge to become a “shavee.”
Participants may choose to do a virtual shave on their own or with a group of friends and post it to the Lawrenceville St. Baldrick’s Facebook page.
Or they may visit Sports Clips’ Lawrence Township or Hamilton Township stores, which will shave their heads for free. Shavees must show their St. Baldrick’s profile on their phone over the next two weeks.
Registration for virtual shaves for anyone who had planned to sign up on the spot at the March 14 event is still possible, according to the Facebook page.
The head-shaving event, which is open to men, women and children, is the foundation’s signature fundraising event.
The genesis for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and its head-shaving fundraiser grew out of a challenge issued b one successful businessman to his equally successful friends in 1999. He asked them what they would do to give back to the community.
They all agreed to shave their heads to raise money for children with cancer. The first head-shaving fundraiser was held around St. Patrick’s Day in 2000, giving rise to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.