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â��77���� students, faculty members, and community residents raised more than $32,000 to battle childhood cancer as part of the annual “St. Baldrick’s Shave for a Change” fundraiser held at Ballydoyle Irish Pub in Downers Grove in March. Students from Midwestern’s Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM) organized the event where 40 people had their heads shaved in solidarity with children who are experiencing the effects of cancer treatments.

“Our goal for this event was to continue to engage with our local community for a good cause – to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer research,” said Jenn Wilson (CCOM 2025), a second-year medical student and one of the organizers for the event. “The St. Baldrick's Foundation is the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants worldwide. Because of the research that has been done, mortality rates have decreased, and the harmful side effects of treatments have also shown improvement. However, we still have a lot of work to do, and we will not be done until there is a cure for cancer.”

CCOM students have been hosting a St. Baldrick’s event for 13 years, and during that time, have raised more than $700,000 and shaved over 1,000 heads. 

“This event helps make CCOM students better future medical providers because it allows us to connect with our future patients, show our support, and advocate for their health and treatment options by providing funds for further research to better their care and hopefully one day find a cure for cancer,” Jenn added. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long, healthy lives.