Volunteering with St. Baldrick’s Foundation to fight children’s cancer

This year marked the 20th anniversary of my younger sister’s passing. Kellie was just 18 years old when we lost her. She was vibrant, healthy, and active. Within just one week, she was gone. We never learned what caused her multiple organ failure, and while that huge question mark has haunted my family ever since, it’s also given us a bit of ‘freedom’ to help other families and kids, no matter what they’re enduring.

In the spring of 2011, I was invited to photograph a head-shaving event benefitting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to help kids fight cancer. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the largest volunteer-driven charity for children’s cancer research. It’s raised over $352 million for lifesaving research since it was founded in 2004. The funds raised aim to find better, safer treatments for children battling cancer and, hopefully, one day a cure.

It was there I learned that every two minutes worldwide, a child is diagnosed with cancer.  As that fact followed me home, I knew I had to do everything I could to help.

Because Outshift and Cisco encourage employees to volunteer with and donate to causes they are passionate about, I’ve been able to do even more than I ever could’ve imagined. And thanks to Outshifters and Cisconians stepping up — we’ve had a really huge impact on changing the face of children’s cancer.

Children’s cancers are very different from adult cancers as they are difficult to diagnose early. With over a dozen types of childhood cancers and countless subtypes, it makes it more challenging for researchers to find cures for every kid. 

While we strive for a cure, a lot of research is focused on preventing the lifelong damage that results from surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapies given to these kids while their young bodies and brains are just developing. Simply put, many cancers don’t have solutions designed specifically for children yet. Treatment options are limited to adult chemotherapy and radiation.

Because of advances in research, approximately 90% of kids with the most common type of cancer will survive. For many others, progress has been limited, so, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

With September being Children’s Cancer Awareness Month, it’s time to step up once again and help fight kid’s cancer.

Why going bald matters: Showing solidarity and support for children with cancer

It started as a challenge between friends. Now, 25 years later, St. Baldrick’s is still organizing annual head-shaving events where participants, known as “shavees,” shave their heads in solidarity with children who lose their hair during cancer treatment. These events are not only a way to raise funds but also to spread awareness and show support for the children and their families.

A lot of people ask if they have to go bald to help (you don’t) or why going bald matters. The act of shaving our heads is more than just a symbolic gesture; it’s a powerful statement of empathy and support. It shows these brave children that they are not alone in their fight and starts conversations that leads to even more awareness and more funds for life-saving research.

Every St. Baldrick’s shavee has their reason for going bald. For some, it’s to honor a family member who has cancer. For others, it’s to celebrate a milestone in their own life — like a big birthday or anniversary. And, for some, like me, it’s now a part of who we are.

For all of us, however, a common thread is a desire to make a positive impact. Going bald is a small sacrifice compared to the challenges faced by children with cancer.

As a woman who has braved the shave every year since 2018, there have been a few surprising moments of being bald or having short hair along the way. One of the biggest, has come from adult women who have had to endure cancer treatment themselves and expressed that I’ve helped them to feel more comfortable with short hair — or no hair — in their own journeys because, “there’s a woman out there rockin’ short hair, and it looks amazing on her.” 

Fundraising for children’s cancer research as a St. Baldrick’s volunteer

In my first-year volunteering, I saw two women go bald and thought, “I could do that.” By my second year, I made a promise to go bald – but they would have to wait for the event after I was married. 

In 2013, I founded Team Live Out Loud in Kellie’s memory. My dad and now husband, Sean, were the first two people to join the team to go bald and start raising funds.

In 2015, we raised nearly $10,000 for children’s cancer research, and I knew this small, but mighty team was on to something. 

By 2017, we realized we had raised $28,871 total in our first five years. That same year, Sean proposed, and we got to planning our March 22, 2018 wedding. Two days after saying, “I do” – I went bald for the very first time. 

That year, I raised $26,702 for my 19 inches of long, purple hair. As a team, we raised $28,961, and I knew there’d be no stopping me. When I bounced off stage, newly married and freshly bald after a seven-year promise had finally come to fruition, a friend asked, “What’s next?”

My response was easy, “Oh, we’re going to keep doing this.”

In the six years since, Team Live Out Loud has gone on to raise $124,973. Even through 2020 and 2021, we never raised less than $10,000 for children’s cancers, as even through a pandemic, kids were still getting cancer.

In 14 years, Team Live Out Loud has collectively raised $182,625. Our goal is hit $200,000 in 2025.

The power of community and small efforts driving big impact

In almost every year since 2018, I’ve been told that I wouldn’t raise my big, lofty goals, or that the challenges would be too great to keep doing this year after year. I certainly thought those voices might have an ounce of validity in 2020. 

My community, including my colleagues, showed up.

After almost 15 years of ‘shouting from the mountaintops’ for these kids — almost everyone who knows me, knows that when September hits — the fundraising season kicks off with Children’s Cancer Awareness Month.

Every $1,100 raised funds another potentially life-saving clinical trial for a child battling cancer. I don’t think about my fundraising as a matter of raising $20,000 every year. To me, it’s a series of one clinical trial at a time.

When I started to break it down, the little actions taken consistently every day got us to here and now. The big donations are great and have a massive impact for children’s cancer research, but they’re few and far between. Broken down even further, it’s the small numbers that tell the story.

About 90% of Team Live Out Loud’s success has come from donations $100 or less, with most of those being $25 and under.

When you care a lot about something, you give what you can, and it adds up. Collectively we can be the change we wish to see in this world. 

Living out loud

When I showed up to that first St. Baldrick's event in 2011, I went to just volunteer and photograph the day. I didn’t realize it would change my entire life, but St. Baldrick’s has truly given my grief a place to go.

Outshift, Cisco, and the amazing people I have met here have only empowered me to do even more for these kids.

It’s all a reflection of my sister’s legacy. With every $1,100 raised, we might save another life, and another child might get to grow old with their sister, which keeps me going.

Team Live Out Loud has funded 166 potentially life-saving clinical trials to date, all because one person thought, “I could do that,” and then, actually did. And we won’t stop until no child has to suffer.

Inspired by this story? Discover more impactful stories from Outshifters in our the Inside Outshift category on the blog.