St. Baldrick's Foundation

Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time with amazing people who were giving their time, resources, and HAIR for a great cause! Read about what Lena Zerbinopoulos, the strong and wonderfully kind woman who got me involved in this fantastic event, wrote about the day!  

Photo by Andre Dengo

Photo by Andre Dengo

Photo above and below by Andre Dengo

 

 

 

Photo above and below by Andre Dengo

Photo by Andre Dengo

On June 8^th 2013, The Home Depot hosted a fundraiser event to support St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to helping researches finding cures to childhood cancers.  As with any great event, it started with an idea from one person.  Pamela Gracie, or “Gracie” to those who know her at Home Depot, who courageously battled breast cancer last year.  She heard about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and thought about how tough it was for her to battle cancer and couldn’t imagine how it must be for a child to endure. 

Gracie reached out to Lena Zerbinopoulos, her daughter-in-law, who was in the middle of her own health battle, a month or two ago and asked her to sign her up for an event online.  They quickly searched for a venue already dedicated to hosting the event in the area.  They decided that they would put together their own little group of shavees, after Gracie’s son and grandson decided they wanted to shave their heads too.  The group was called “Gracie’s Gift” and Lena made the first donation towards the new team. 

Within a few days of creating the new group, Gracie told her boss, Nicolas Lapointe, that she was going to be shaving her head to support childhood cancer research and his response led them to change the location of the venue to Home Depot in Portsmouth, NH.  A whole new energy took over as more and more people found out about the event.  What started with just a few shavees quickly gained traction and people started to help any way they could.  If someone did not want to shave their head, they donated money or volunteered their time to show support.

The day of the event was rainy and cold and the plan to hold the event outside of Home Depot was moved into the break room.  The organizer and volunteers arrived a couple hours early and everyone pitched in to get the room ready.  The registrar, Michele McCarthy and Treasurer, Mark Zerbinopoulos, were ready for walk-ins.  Barbers, Bradley Dion and Mimi Eaton, were very eager to start shaving. 

The youngest shavees went first, including 2 year old, Slayter Saucier and Gracie’s 11 year old grandson, Nicolas Zerbinopoulos.  Both boys left their chairs with smiles on their faces.  The smiles were in abundance but so were the tears.  With a total of 10 women signed up to shave their heads, the emotions were high. 

At the highlight of the shavings, a mother and daughter, Julie and Emily McDonald, held hands and cried together, as the packed room cheered them on.  Photographers, make-up artists, and a singer stopped what they were doing to watch.  Emily, just 13 years old, sobbed as her mom held her tight.  Just entering her teenage years, this was the most courageous of all shaves. 

Having make-up artists Jaylene Wilkinson and Lauren Rogers at the event made the women feel beautiful, a great compliment to the empowerment of shaving their heads.  These two stunning artists took their time on each woman to make sure their faces matched the glowing energy in the room.

Next up were Mark and Lena Zerbinopoulos, Gracie’s son and daughter-in-law.  They were quickly followed by Gracie herself and then by Gracie’s boss, Nicolas Lapointe and Home Depot’s district manager, Daniel Burke, who took time from his vacation to be part of this event.

In the background, April Cushman, a NH singer who has signed up to audition for “The Voice,” gave us a brilliant acoustic performance of “Hallelujah” as well as a handful of other songs.  The sound of her voice was pure and angelic, very emotional and fitting for a childhood cancer event. 

I believe it was her voice and energy of the moment that prompted one of the photographers to put down his camera and shave his head as well.  What an unbelievable contribution for someone already volunteering his time to help his sister, photographer, Marina Dengo.  Marina dedicated a chunk of her day to photograph the event, one previously scheduled to spend quality time with her brother, who is from out of state.

Most people who donated did so with someone in mind, making fundraising a personal one.  For those who didn’t, we took a moment and honored Avery Forrestall, an 11 year old boy from Henniker, NH who is currently battling Leukemia.  This hit a little close to home with Gracie’s grandson being 11 years old and from being one town over from Henniker.

Thanks to Gracie – it all started with her simple idea to shave her own head to a very successful fundraising event, where a total of 30 people, selflessly shaved their heads to support ongoing research for childhood cancers.  They even surpassed their goal of $5,000!  Approximately $4,500 was raised before Home Depot’s dollar for dollar match for any dollar raised by a Home Depot employee.  The estimated total is approximately $8,000, as the money continues to come in after the event.