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Teenager Shaves Head for 7th Time to Help Kids with Cancer
Chicago native Sean O’Reilly was 7 years old when his father, Bill (no,
not that Bill O’Reilly), read him a Chicago Tribune article about a
quirky fundraising event to benefit childhood cancer research.
An avid hockey player, Sean had recently read about another hockey
player his own age that was suffering from cancer and was moved by the
boy’s story. As his father continued reading aloud about the
St. Baldrick’s Foundation – and how the organization raises money for
childhood cancer research through hundreds of “head-shaving” events held
annually across the country --
Sean decided that shaving his head was something he really wanted to do.
Bill hadn’t even put down the newspaper before Sean had convinced him
that they should shave their heads together.
 Sean remembers facing the clippers for the very first time: “I was very
nervous. Here I was, this little kid, surrounded by all these huge
guys.” It didn’t take long for Sean to go from having a full head of
hair to nothing but fuzz. He hopped out of the barber’s chair and looked
in a mirror. Sean says that as soon as he saw his bald head, he felt an
immediate transformation. “I felt like I was doing something to help
that boy I’d read about and that I was helping a lot of other kids with
cancer, too.”
Both Sean and Bill say they were hooked on
St. Baldrick’s from the start
and promised one another that they would shave every year. Sean was even
more enthusiastic about the following year’s event and recruited other
players from his hockey team to shave their heads. The year after that,
he got his uncle to do the same.
In 2009, Sean will shave his head for the 7th year in a row, giving him
the distinction of having been a
St. Baldrick’s “shavee” for
half his
life!
Bill says he is very proud of his son’s dedication to the cause of
childhood cancer, and that it was Sean’s commitment that inspired him to
take his own participation to a new level. In March 2008, Sergeant Bill
O’Reilly, a 21-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, helped
organize a St.
Baldrick’s event at which 177 police officers shaved
their heads and raised $77,860. “I’m proud of Sean not only because of
what he does for St.
Baldrick’s, but because of the person he’s become
and how he cares for so many people.”
Each year, 160,000 children worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Since
2000, over 73,000 men, women and children have had their heads shaved at
St. Baldrick’s events, helping raise more than $51 million for childhood
cancer research. For more information on the
St. Baldrick’s Foundation
and its quest to conquer kids’ cancer, visit:
www.StBaldricks.org.
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