More than US$300,000 was raised for child cancer research at Friday’s annual Hannah’s Heroes Big Shave at Cricket Square.
At least 70 men, women and children got on stage to have their heads shaved in front of hundreds of supporters at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser, which was held this year for the eighth time.
As well as having their heads shaved to show solidarity with children who lose their hair because of chemotherapy, the shaves raised money through sponsorships in the run-up to the event and through donations on the night.
Organisers are still tallying the total raised, but as of Sunday morning, the donations had topped US$335,000. This brings the total raised by the event since the first Big Shave 2013 to almost US$2.9 million.
Amongst the freshly shorn were the families of Cayman’s childhood cancer survivors, including Gaylene Meeson, whose 15-year-old daughter Hannah was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in 2012 and after whom Hannah’s Heroes is named; Woody Foster, father of 14-year-old leukemia survivor, Charli; Tom and JoJo Sperandeo, father and brother of 10-year-old leukemia survivor, Saylor; and Fiona Macfarlane, whose 22-year-old son Kai died on 25 Sept., five years after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
Also present were cancer survivors, Beau Shields, 11; Tayden Grant, 14; and Ally Capasso, 15.
All funds go to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research.
The foundation funds research grants, several of which are named as ‘Hannah’s Heroes’ grants, as the millions of dollars that have been raised in the Cayman Islands over the years have been used to pay for important research into child-specific cancer drugs and therapies.
Governor Martyn Roper was on hand to open the event and welcome the crowd, praising the community’s continued support of fundraising for research.
He was joined on stage by Woody Foster, who led the audience in a prayer celebrating childhood, and Kelly Forebaugh, director of Hero Funds from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in California.
The governor, who lent a hand in shaving Foster’s head, much to the delight of the crowd, told the audience, “It’s a privilege to be amongst so many brave individuals and families who are such an inspiration to all of us here. I hope our presence here will show our very strong support for this wonderful event and encourage others to support much-needed research”.
This was the first live Hannah’s Heroes Big Shave since 2019, due to COVID-19.
The event is the biggest single overseas fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s, which has been operating since 2005, during which time it has donated more than $332 million in funding for research grants to more than 358 institutions in 31 countries.
The top fundraising teams at Friday’s Big Shave included Maples and Balder ($31,686), Team Kai in memory of Kai Parham ($23,126), Team Waystone in support of Claire Loebell ($19,626), Dart ($17,871) who matched the funds raised by the team, The Tortuga Rum Cutters ($14,991), and Cayman Prep & High School ($16,982).
Earlier on Friday, 12 children and staff from Cayman International School shaved their heads at the school and raised more than $9,500.
Also in attendance at the shave at The Wicket at Cricket Square on Friday were the FireBalds, made up of 10 members of the Cayman Islands Fire Service.
The crowd was moved by the story of Claire Loebell, who, following her recent breast cancer diagnosis, joined the event to raise funds for childhood cancer research. She raised $21,899.
The Hannah’s Heroes team reported that funds are still coming in, with several more fundraising events planned over the next few days, including a bake sale at Cayman Prep and High School, the proceeds from the event’s silent auction, and donations from the register at Foster’s stores throughout September.
Donations can still be made by visiting www.stbaldricks.org/events/hannahsheroes.
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