Twenty-five Fayetteville Fire Department/EMS members “braved the shave” and raised more than $11,000 at the March 1 St. Baldrick’s fundraising event at Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub and Restaurant in Syracuse.
St. Baldrick’s is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to raising funds for childhood cancer research. The biggest event associated with St. Baldrick’s are their numerous head shaving fundraisers put on by volunteers in communities throughout the nation. Participants raise funds through their family and friends and shave off their hair as a sign of support to children who are diagnosed with cancer.
“We shave our heads in solidarity with the children who are diagnosed with cancer,” said Eric Gacarz, team captain for the Fayetteville Fire Department team. Gancarz said he got the idea to bring this cause to the Fayetteville Fire Department after participating in it as a member of the Onondaga Hill Fire Department.
This year was the first time the Fayetteville department has participated in the event.
In 2014, St. Baldrick’s saw more than 57,000 people “brave the shave” at more than 1,300 events, raising more than $38 million, according to the organization. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation has given more than $13 million to hospitals and research facilities in New York state, including more than $300,000 to institutions in the Syracuse area.
The “honored child” for the Fayetteville Fire Department was Nathaniel Henry, a 7-year-old from Chittenango who was diagnosed diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in March 2012 and is currently undergoing treatment. Nathaniel was present at the March 1 event and got to interact with the members of the team.
“Every three minutes, a child is diagnosed with cancer,” Gancarz said. “We see so many horrible things while on calls and it’s nice to be able to contribute some of our time to a good charity.”
Fire Chief Paul Hildreth, who raised funds and shaved his head, said he thought this event was a good way to give back to the local community.
“I believe it sends a message to the community that we’re more than just people out there providing a service,” Hildreth said. “We’re also about helping the community.”
Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson also participated in the event and said he was glad to help out with the fight against cancer, something that affects so many people.
“It really shows that our fire department will go above and beyond of what’s expected of them in the community,” Olson said. “Cancer affects many people in our community. It shows people really care about fighting it by all of the support we saw in the village of Fayetteville while raising funds.”
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
