By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Dr. David Vastola added a new element to his strategy for raising donations in this year’s St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser for childhood cancer research.
The multicolored hair the Sitka doctor has been sporting this week is a testament to how far he’ll go in promoting a cause he believes in.
He plans to give up his decorated locks tonight at the Elks Lodge in Sitka’s annual St. Baldrick’s event, joining dozens of other volunteers who collected pledges with promises to have their heads shaved.
“We have fun,” said co-coordinator Craig Warren, who’s in his 14th year of volunteering for the event. “We watch each other get our heads shaved, and try to get more donations. ... It’s a unique vibe. Everyone’s super-generous.”
The event starts at 6 p.m., and hair starts falling at 6:30, with the help of licensed barbers and hairdressers.
Volunteer “shavees” collect donations in advance of the event, mostly through the St. Baldrick’s website. While heads are being shaved at the fundraiser site, emcees work the crowd for more donations and sign up more volunteers to go under the razor. Vastola, Warren, and fire chief Dave Miller will be the emcees tonight.
As of noon today, Vastola had raised over $6,800 from more than 50 donors from all over the country. As an incentive, he held a drawing among the people who donated by Tuesday, and allowed the winner to pick a color scheme for his hair. The winner was a fan of the Buffalo Bills, and chose red, white and blue.
As for the reason he is so active in St. Baldricks, Vastola, a pediatrician and co-medical director of SEARHC, said he “just personally believes in the cause. Children’s cancer research is grossly underfunded.”
Dr. Dave Vastola will have his head shaved this evening at the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. (Photo provided)
Some $37 million to $40 million is raised each year in similar fundraisers around the country. The events supplement research funding available from all sources for childhood cancer research. Vastola said only 4 percent of funds for cancer research are dedicated to children’s cancer.
During his residency, he spent a lot of time in hospital wards where there were kids with cancer, he said.
“You get pretty attached to them,” he said. “The kids mostly just want to feel well enough to play. They just want to play.”
Nathan Young, a firefighter and EMT at the Sitka Fire Department, initiated the first St. Baldrick’s event in Sitka 14 years ago. Vastola and Warren have been the coordinators in recent years.
Warren noted the “kid-friendly” environment of the Sitka event.
“It’s hard to describe the vibe,” he said. “Everyone’s a little unsure then someone picks up the mike and before you know it, people’s heads start getting shaved. You wouldn’t think you could have that much fun shaving our heads.”
“It’s a fun way to raise the money, and it’s really needed, for children’s cancer research,” said his daughter, Taya Warren, a senior at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. She’s now in her seventh year as a volunteer.
St. Baldrick’s was started by California businessman Tim Kenny, who challenged his colleagues John Bender and Enda McDonnell to “give back” in return for their good fortune in business. McDonnell’s thick head of hair gave Kenny the idea to shave their heads for donations to raise funds for kids with cancer.
The idea caught on, spinning off into local St. Baldrick fundraisers across the country, generally held around St. Patrick’s Day. The idea is to express solidarity with cancer patients who lose their hair as a side effect of their treatment medications. The name St. Baldrick’s – not a real saint – is a play on words.
Even after the event, donations will continue to be accepted through the //www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/110/2020. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook.
.
