Huge Outpouring Of Support For St. Baldrick's Childhood Cancer Event

“I do this stuff because I have so much fun doing it.” Those were the words of Eric Bacyinski when someone asked about his involvement with the St. Baldrick's Foundation event to fight childhood cancer. He said, “Look at everybody, they got a smile on their face.” I looked around, and he was right. A lot of folks had a lot of fun, and a lot of hair was left on the floor of Plymouth ROC.

This was the fourth year that Eric Bacyinski, and Robb Drzewicki have held this event, and Eric indicated that they couldn't have got it done without Tabb Lyngvar, as well as all of the other folks who worked so hard to make this event go off without a hitch.

There were over 70 participants who raised money to get their heads shaved, and at last tally, Plymouth's own Debra Madonna, Stephanie Steinberger, and Rachel Koelzer were the top fundraisers. There were 12 participants who raised at least $1,000.

There were also a number of women who had hair long enough to donate it to other organizations who make hairpieces for those suffering from hair loss due to cancer. So they were able to help out two great organizations with one wonderful gesture.

I have been to a number of fundraisers over the years, and I can't say enough about the folks that organized this. Eric, Robb, and Tabb were a perfect tag team. Tabb kept everything organized, and everybody going in the right direction, which is an amazing feat when you consider over 70 haircuts in 4 hours. Tabb was the first smiling face you saw when you walked in te door. Eric was the host with the most. Greeting everybody, introducing folks, and handling all of the little details between the door and the cutting stage. Eric worked the crowd, making sure that everybody was having a good time, and that all of the folks helping out had everything they needed.

Then there was Robb. He was the emcee, and having never met the man, I thought they had hired a professional emcee for the event. The guy was onstage doing interviews, he was cajoling the audience to make on the spot donations for the privilege of cutting their favorite participant's hair, and of course, the man was funny! I'll just say this about Robb. This man could successfully sell ice cubes to folks on the North Pole! If you had money in your wallet, and you were near the stage, Robb was going to relieve you of that money, and you would walk away with a smile on your face, happy to help.

Eric was amazed at how this event has grown over the four years. In Eric and Robb's first year, they raised $12,000, in their 2nd, they raised $24.000, 3rd year was $37,000, and this year it looks like it is going to come in somewhere between $56,000 - $58,000.

This doesn't happen without a lot of help from a lot of folks. All of the people who sold raffle tickets, all of the businesses who donated great items to auction off or raffle, The Plymouth ROC for the venue, and all of the servers who worked throughout the day, and of course, the awesome folks at Fantastic Sams of Plymouth.

Todd and Scott, who own Fantastic Sams, were not only there through the whole event, they also took donations from their customers at Fantastic Sams. So they came with cash, and they brought their awesome crew of hair stylists as well, and these stylists donated their talent and time free of charge. My stylist was Rach, and she was fantastic! Hats off to Fantastic Sams for everything they continually do for our community.

Now we get to the real heroes. The folks in our community, and our neighboring communities who have generously donated their hard earned money to St. Baldrick's, in the ongoing effort to help children with cancer. None of this happens without the generous and caring folks who donated their time, and their money, and Eric, Robb, and Tabb just wanted to express their thanks for the overwhelming support that folks continue to give them.

Near the end, I overheard Eric telling someone that “Once you show up for the first time to get your head shaved, you'll be back the next year, because it is so rewarding and fun.”

I'm pretty darn sure he was right about that. This was my first year, and I'll definitely be back next year, because I had a blast. I had a few Mickey Redmond Ginger Ales, I met some really nice new friends, and I got to spend some time with my old Patch friend Johnny McKay, and it was all for a good cause.

Not bad, not bad at all...