In my last post, I mentioned that you should get to know Chase Jones and his incredible organization Vs. Cancer Foundation because you might be seeing both a lot. Well, Chase and Vs. Cancer are making their second appearance on our blog today, and I am beyond excited to share this one with you!
All of the Vs. Cancer events we have covered up to this point have been college teams. So I was so excited when Chase told us about the incredible efforts of the West Raleigh Baseball Association, a youth baseball organization. West Raleigh is comprised of 33 teams with players ranging in age from 6 to 12 years old. These kids, along with some very encouraging and well organized parents, put together an entire Vs. Cancer event! And I don’t just mean shaving heads. They had a band, food trucks, a dunk tank and a crazy amount of raffle prizes all built around a day-long tournament.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., more than 120 kids, along with a few adults, shaved their heads in support of other kids battling cancer. Games were happening at the park all day so there was a steady stream of kids coming up to the booth to get their heads shaved. It was just incredible to watch and capture the day with my camera.
Even more incredible than these kids shaving their heads was the fact that they were able to raise almost $30,000 for Vs. Cancer. That’s right! This group of 6 to 12 year olds raised $30,000 for kids with cancer. Nothing made it more clear how incredible their accomplishment was than the looks on the faces of their parents. They glowed with pride watching their children, and enthusiastically helped them embrace their new bald look.
Of course, some parents didn’t pass on the opportunity to poke a little fun.
These lovely ladies of the local Raleigh Great Clips were part of a dedicated team that shaved heads nonstop for four hours.
As I mentioned before, head shaving wasn’t the only thing happening! There were great food vendors to try and a great band to listen to (well, for about an hour before they were asked to stop for being too loud!). There was also a serious competition going on between the players and the coaches at the dunk tank. I think it’s safe to say the kids won!
Here is Chase with the incredible leaders of the West Raleigh Baseball Association. What a great day these guys put together!
This is probably one of my favorite photos from the day. These brothers shaved their heads together. Don’t they just look adorable?!
Our day at the West Raleigh event ended with a young team known as the Bees. These boys and their coaches were the last big group of the day in part because they wanted to get their heads shaved together as a team. When everyone was finished, they had a team huddle where their coach handed out cards to each of the players that read
“Today, I was part of something really really big. It is bigger than baseball because today I helped someone in need! Together, my teammates and I helped raised more than $8,500 to help kids with cancer!”
I was overcome with emotion as their coach read the card out loud. What he was saying was so true! That day, hundreds of kids and their families chose to make a difference in the lives of kids fighting cancer. Vs. Cancer is bigger than any sport. It’s bigger than any person or team. It is about directly impacting and saving lives. To watch so many young kids rise to that challenge was inspiring. And even though their hair will grow back, I know none of them will ever forget the day they went bald to #curekidscancer!
Hi, nice article. I really like it!