Go bald to fight cancer, University of Ottawa's faculty of medicine raising funds for research

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Jessica Cunha

EMC news - University students are going bare in an effort to raise funds to fight childhood cancers.

The University of Ottawa's faculty of medicine is hosting its ninth annual Shave for a Cure event on Friday, Feb. 24, during the Ottawa 67's game at Lansdowne Park.

Students are challenging the public to brave the cold weather and shave their heads - or lop off 30 centimetres of hair - for Smiling Over Sickness, the volunteer-based non-profit organization run by the medical students at the university.

The organization has partnered with the St. Baldrick's Foundation to fundraise for Childhood Cancer Canada.

"Participants, or shavees, are a large part of our fundraising every year," said Pamela Lai, a medical student and the event's co-organizer in a press release.

The students are hoping to raise $60,000 to contribute to pediatric cancer research.

"Every bit counts tremendously towards our goal of $60,000," said Lai. "The Ottawa community has always been great to us."

Other ways to get involved in the fundraising effort include:

- Purchasing a ticket for the Ottawa 67's game for Feb. 24 through the Shave for a Cure website, www.shaveforacure.ca.

- Bidding in the silent auction on site at Lansdowne on Feb. 24.

- Donating online to the event.

Proceeds from tickets bought through the event website are donated and are available until Feb. 20.

"We want Shave for a Cure to keep growing," said Bradley Sarak, a medical student and the event's co-organizer. "We want everyone to crave the shave."

For more information, visit the website at www.shaveforacure.ca.

All donations collected through the University of Ottawa's Shave for a Cure event remain in Canada and go towards funding pediatric cancer research.

Childhood cancers affect hundreds of families each year.

About 1,500 new cases of childhood cancers are diagnosed every year, and there are around 10,000 children living with cancer in Canada today.