One for the Balds: The power of sticking with a charity
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Moriarty family
You shouldn't pick a favorite child, but you can pick a favorite charity.
The big picture: St. Baldrick's is my favorite charity — a deadly serious one with an amusing gimmick. (I will not be disclosing a favorite child.)
How it works: Supporters gather in public — from bars to churches, and everything in between — to have their heads shaved or donate 8 inches of hair. The reward: occasional cheers from the crowd — and lots of funds raised for important childhood cancer research.
- The charity supports promising childhood cancer research organizations via research grants, and raised more than $20 million in 2025 alone.
Stunning stat: Since 2005, St. Baldrick's has invested over $371 million in childhood cancer research grants worldwide.
How we found it: We listened to our then 9-year-old son.
- In 2012, Brendan came home from school in our Bucks County, Pa., community and told us about a classmate with a shaved head. He thought it was cool, and so we did our research and found St. Baldrick's.
- My forehead had been expanding for a few years, and our fourth-grader wanted to do something for others. So we went for it.
It all starts at the community level, and our annual event in New Hope-Solebury, Pa., is a great case study.
- It's grown from a couple dozen shavees in 2013 to more than 80 onstage over a decade later.
- It's accessible and open to all. Money still comes from shavees like us, but a community fair that has sprung up around the event draws in donations from Bars for Baldricks, silent auctions and more.
Why it matters to us: Childhood cancer sucks, and our family has a personal connection through my wife's oldest sister.
- There's something more than rewarding about supporting a group dedicated to sparing families this kind of pain.
Zoom in: Finding a way to model charitable habits for our kids was important to my wife and me. Now every spring, we hear from friends and past donors to ask when we're shaving.
- I use St. Baldrick's logos as my Slack avatar at work, and I highlight it on my social media, generating organic conversations with new acquaintances and old friends.
- Our entire family of six has become part of the St. Baldrick's organization.
The bottom line: Doing this with my son for 14 years, and counting is a special thing I don't take for granted.
- Supporting St. Baldrick's each year has given us an opportunity to not just give back, but to see the power of our effort compound each year.
