Stephen Wiley, 29, gets his head shaved by Ra Kyoang of 610 Barber during the St. Baldrick's Day event in Stafford on March 13. Wiley drove from his home in South Carolina to do this because Brooke Duncan is his niece. Photo By: KJ Mushung

After several days of harsh rains and muggy skies, the sun finally broke through on March 13 to witness men, women and children gather together at Paddy’s Steakhouse and Pub in Stafford, to celebrate an important not-quite-holiday in March. Not St. Patrick’s Day, St. Baldrick’s Day.

St. Baldrick’s is an organization dedicated to fighting childhood cancer by raising money as well as awareness, through annual head-shaving events and fundraisers.

Both men and women of all ages, including a clown and men with green hair and beards, showed up this past weekend to do their part.

The owners of Paddy’s have held a St. Baldrick’s Day event at their pub for eight years now.

NOVA student Bria O’Brien paints the face of cancer survivor Brooke Duncan, who is the daughter of former NOVA student Ryan Duncan, during the St. Baldrick's Day event in Stafford on March 13. Photo By: KJ Mushung

Helen Brosnan, one of the owners, said, “It’s all about the kids. If we can take our hair off and put it on them, why not? Ours grows back.”

The aroma of beer and cheers of encouragement swept through the pub as the festivities pursued. Raffle tickets for gift baskets were sold for $1 or $5, depending on the item, by exuberant volunteers, and a plethora of baked goods was available for donations and were displayed on a long table that nearly divided the pub in half.

Toward the back, Bria O’Brien, a student at Northern Virginia Community College who shaved her head last year and raised $600, was doing face paintings for the children in attendance. “It’s a good cause,” she said as she swept a brush of green paint across a child’s cheek. “If it’s something I can do, why not do it?”

John Carney, a student at Berkeley Elementary School, also shares this ideology. This was the second year he and his friends decided to shave their heads in the fight against childhood cancer.

Through all the activities and all the noise, I couldn’t help but notice a strong sense of closeness between all these people. Everyone was there for the same reason, and the selflessness and love exuded was unmistakable and unavoidable. The reality of why they were all there and what this event was for was ever-present in the form of a handful of diagnosed children. Seeing the newly shaven volunteers smiling down at the children they were helping was heartwarming and inspirational. One of the honored guests at the event was Gala, who had ganglioneuroma. The other was Brooke, who had suffered from neuroblastoma.

They seemed unbelievably shy, but beneath that shyness was the innocence and joyfulness of childhood.

Gala, age 4, had just had her face painted and boasted a horse on her left cheek. She said her favorite animals were horses, hippos and birds and that she loves the beach and wants to play in the sand with her mom this summer. She was very excited that her father would be getting his head shaved at the event.

“Daddy’s gonna shave his head today. Over there,” she said with enthusiasm as she extended her arm to point at the three chairs set up outside the pub.

Ryan Duncan holds his daughter, Brooke, during the St. Baldrick's Day event in Stafford on March 13. Photo By: KJ Mushung

Brooke is an aspiring doctor, loves monkeys and said she wants to go swimming this summer.

Brooke’s father, Ryan Duncan, who attended NOVA, also shaved his head. He had been donating to cancer charities for years but became much more involved in August 2009 when Brooke was diagnosed.

He looked down at his 5-year-old daughter and said, “You got innocent kids. Nobody should have to go through this.”

For more information or to donate, visit stbaldricks.org.

By: Justine Hatim

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