Ramstein Airmen pay St. Baldrick's $6,645 for hair cut

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jocelyn Rich
  • 86 Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Does a free hair cut sound like a good deal? Perhaps, it sounds even better when a free hair cut raises awareness and money to combat cancer in children.

Ninety-eight people volunteered to give up their locks to participate in the first ever St. Baldrick's event at Donnelly Park here June 26. The hair raising experience tallied $6,645 for charity at the end of the day.

The event was organized by 3-year-old Josephine Beardsley's parents, Heike and Tech. Sgt. Timothy Beardsley, 86th Maintenance Squadron. It also marked the second anniversary of Josephine being diagnosed with Leukemia.

"Last year on this day, it was so hard, it hit us really hard," Mrs. Beardsley said. "This year has been so much better; it was about us being able to do something to beat this."

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a non-profit, public charity that raises money for childhood cancer research usually through head-shaving events. These events have been held in all 50 U.S. states and 28 countries throughout the world. All of the funds raised at this and other St. Baldrick's events are given back to the organization and distributed in the form of St. Baldrick's Scholarships, research grants, multi-institution grants and to research organizations meeting rigid criteria.

"This organization is important to us. This is our way of giving back," said Mrs. Beardsley.

Family, friends, co-workers, and employers sponsored the volunteers, who in turn shaved their heads to demonstrate their support to children diagnosed with cancer and typically lose their hair during treatments.

"At first, we were thinking small and said $1,000. Then, we got a lot of people interested. So, we moved it to $2,500," Sergeant Beardsley said.

Two years ago while the Beardsley's were stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., they noticed Josephine, whom they call "Josie," demonstrated some worrisome behavior.

"At first, we were told that she had an ear infection and were sent away," Mrs. Beardsley said. "Then the very next morning, she woke up and couldn't walk."

That was the beginning of what was to become a long and defining week for the family. For days, they were given diagnosis ranging from an infection to possible meningitis in the then 1-year-old Josie's legs.

After much persistence, Mrs. Beardsley called the base medical clinic and demanded Josephine be seen by the head pediatrician.

"We finally got a doctor who took us seriously and that is when we did the blood test, and found out (the results) a half hour later," Mrs. Beardsley said.

Today, Josie is on the road to recovery. The event showed the Beardsleys an indication of how much support there is throughout the community.

"I like when things like this bring people together," said Sergeant Beardsley. "All the active duty, all the civilians that work on the base ... I am really glad that this event did that."

July 2009 to July 2010 was designated as the Year of the Air Force Family, so this event is something that resonates with the Beardsleys.

"I think it is important that we are doing events on Air Force bases, because this should be hitting home for a lot of Airmen. [Josie] is one of the community," Mrs. Beardsley said. "We are not a single or unique case, but this is something that hits the Air Force as a big family, just as it hits other families out there."

Military members, civilians and dependants sheared their locks in support of not only the Beardsleys, but to raise awareness throughout the community.

"He wasn't even going to do it," said Maj. Christopher Torres, 603rd Air and Space Operations Center deputy chief of operations, talking about his 7-year-old son, Jacob. "But then he saw daddy do it, and wanted to have his head shaved too."

The owner and employees from Siggi's Barber Shop on Ramstein volunteered their off time to give the participants a new look.

"I like doing things like this. It is not only good for the cause, but it is good for us too," said Claudia Estes, owner of Siggi's Barber Shop. "We had 98 people volunteer to shave their heads. That is great."

Since 2000, the St. Baldrick's Foundation has raised more than $87 million, hosted more than 3,200 head-shaving events and shaved more than 145,000 heads.

"The turnout was great, there were a lot more people here than we expected," Sergeant Beardsley said. "We are really excited to keep this going and looking forward to next year"

For information on how to get involved with St. Baldrick's Foundation, visit www.stbaldricks.org.