Shave and a hair cut raises thousands

Connecting Irish pride, good humor and local fundraising takes some work but the effort pays off, By Jennifer Knocha Hamburg — What’s wet, bald, green and happy? On this past Saturday, a safe answer would have been: a fireman. On March 13, the Hamburg Fire Department hosted firemen from around the county, and a few from even farther than that, for their third annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. The idea is simple: Earn donations from friends and family by shaving your head, raising money for children with cancer and showing solidarity for those who have lost their hair while being treated. Then add in beer, hot dogs, corned beef and a lot of people wearing a lot of green. All fun aside, however, this year’s event became extra special because the proceeds will go to two local children. Zachary Decker, 4, whose father, Kevin, grandfather and uncle, are all Hamburg firemen, was diagnosed with leukemia last month and has just finished his first round of chemotherapy. Jason VanArsdale, 12, of Stockholm, has been battling osteosarcoma for the last two years. Very local connection “When it’s someone you know, it just makes it more special,” said one of the organizers, Jacquelyn Shane. She started the event with her husband David, Hamburg’s Fire Chief, and their friend Stacy Michaelman three years ago, after another friend, Craig Sweetman, died of a childhood cancer. “We wanted to do something,” said Michaelman, “and we found this. The first year it was just us, but it’s gotten bigger every year.” In fact, this year, they had scheduled a parade, which David Shane thought was off because of the weather. But that didn’t turn out to be the case. “I keep trying to cancel it,” he said, “but everyone wants to do it anyway!” The guests of honor were given their grand parade around Hamburg. The parade was the only part of the party that Zachary Decker got to see. Due to his compromised immune system, he wasn’t allowed inside to see the hundreds of people who showed up over the course of the day to help raise funds. But his family made a strong showing in his place, selling homemade jewelry, cookies and candy to help raise funds. Jason Van Arsdale did get to see his own party, and spent the day at his own table, selling “Jason’s Legendary Cookbook,” a collection of his own recipes and also recipes from some of the nurses, doctors and staff treating him, as well as his family and teachers. He also had a batch of his own salsa recipe for everyone to sample, and got to spend some time at the DJ booth, helping to hand out prizes. When all was said and done, 185 people got their hair cut off for charity and $8,450 was raised. But that’s just the beginning, according to Shane. They have a Facebook page, and along with the St. Baldrick’s Web site, more donations were coming in as the day went by. They hope to beat last year’s total of almost $10,000. Neighborhood joins in Hooters in Franklin sent two of its employees with the restaurant’s wings for sale to benefit the families. Boy Scout Troop 48 was selling corned beef and hot dogs, and there were vendors selling jewelry and photographs. Beer for sale was donated by Miller, and there were donations of food from Boar’s Head and Anthony’s Bakery. The event took almost three months to plan, according to Jacqueline Shane “but it’s totally, completely worth it. The best part of this is that all the fire departments that make it possible.” There were groups from Beemerville, Hardyston, Franklin, McAfee, Vernon, Sandyston and Sussex, who together raised the most money as a team, with over $4,000. Winning the distance award was a group from Ontario. They found out about the event when they were in the States to buy a fire truck from the Sussex Fire Department, and ended up sending six men down in the chief’s car to have their heads shaved. Then they turned around and headed right back to Canada. Another volunteer was councilman Russell Law, who was willing to bare his scalp for the first time in a long time. “I looked at some old pictures, and it’s been 41 years since I was bald,” he said.

Young volunteer helps the most
The biggest fundraiser of the day was 6-year-old Deziree Conklin of Sussex, who raised $1,028 and lost 10 inches of hair. “We haven’t cut her hair in six years,” said her mother, Kerstin Boone. “She wanted to wait for St. Baldrick’s. I cried, because she’s only ever had trims, not a real haircut.”