More Than 600 Heads to be Shaved this Year to raise Funds to Fight Childhood Cancer
7-year supporters to be knighted as “Knights of the Bald Table”
For the ninth consecutive year, the Irish pub trade in Las Vegas is raising funds to research and conquer childhood cancer, spearheaded by a gala head-shaving party on Saturday, March 7th from 11 a.m. until 3 a.m. on Sunday, March 8th. During the 16-hour period, the benefit will have scores of celebrities, bands, special performers and regular folks taking part in fighting childhood cancer.
McMullan’s Irish Pub, located on Tropicana and Cameron, is the headquarter for the event and has been for the past nine years and is delighted to work with 7th-year participant Nine Fine Irishmen at New York, New York, 4th-year participant RiRa Irish Pub at Mandalay Bay and 3rd-year participant Vinyl Lounge at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Las Vegas Valley residents have gathered at McMullan’s and have provided more than $3.5M for the campaign to find a cure for the killer of more children than any other childhood disease.
“We don’t have huge formal dinners or silent auction as our fundraiser. Rather, we have hundreds of people from all over Southern Nevada show up at our pub and sponsor their neighbors, friends and even strangers who are willing to have their heads shaved in solidarity with children who have lost their hair to cancer,” says Brian McMullan, Owner of McMullan’s Irish Pub. “We hope to add to the more than $154 million to the Foundation awarded as grants to physicians and researchers across the globe. We will beat this horrific disease”
All of the dedicated ‘shavees’, barbers, volunteers and committee members who have participated for seven years will be admitted to the “Knights of the Bald Table”. Throughout the day you will be able to see people being knighted on stage in honor of their continuous contribution to this great cause.
Masters of ceremonies for the shaving of an estimated 450 volunteers include TV personality, Robin Leach; TV newsmen, Nate Tannenbaum; TV news personalities, Gerard Ramalho and Elizabeth Watts; Entertainer, Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton Holmes; Starsky and Hutch’s Huggy Bear, Antonio Fargas; Jennifer Romas with the Sexxy cast, CBS Radio morning show host, Carlos Diaz and Spence and many more. Extensive radio remotes will originate on local CBS-owned FM and AM stations and the event can be streamed live from computers around the world.
Special ‘shavee’ volunteers include Kevin Page, Board of Regents Chair and Dr. Jonathon Bernstein, Las Vegas Pediatric Oncologist from the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, who has also received the seven St. Baldrick’s grants.
“The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, based in Monrovia, CA, was founded 16 years ago by three people who wanted to do more to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than just sit around and drink beer”, McMullan said.
One of them offered children cancer research as a fundraising recipient and the participants had a goal of raising $1,000 each. After raising more than ten times that amount, the annual event mushroomed with more than 100,000 heads get shaved annually and is held in pubs, firehouses, restaurants, meeting halls, high school gyms and other venues in all 50 states and 18 countries.
The sad fact is that every three minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer worldwide and the average number years of life a child loses to cancer is 71 years. The time to help is now. Since 2005, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation has awarded more than $154 million to support research that shows the most promise in finding cures and better treatments for children fighting cancer. This year, the Foundation hopes to surpass its 2014 fundraising record of $38.9 million. We need YOU to help make that happen.
To get involved, visit www.StBaldricks.org, and connect on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Vimeo.
About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. St. Baldrick’s coordinates its signature head-shaving events worldwide where participants collect pledges to shave their heads in solidarity with kids with cancer, raising money to fund research. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has awarded more than $154 million to support lifesaving research, making the Foundation the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, and the new International Scholar grants train researchers to work in developing countries. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.
