Residents losing their hair over children’s charity event

By Mytae Carrasco

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 1:50 a.m.

Las Vegas residents are losing their hair for a third year in a row, but it’s all for a good cause.

The St. Baldrick’s charity event originated in pubs and is the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. Volunteers join in shaving their heads to represent the many children who have undergone or are going through cancer treatment.

“It’s snowballing so amazingly. I could never have dreamed that this event would be as big in the third year as it is,” said Lynn McMullan, organizer of the Las Vegas charity event and owner of McMullan’s Irish Pub.

McMullan’s Irish Pub has 203 shavees so far - a significant increase from last year. Quinn’s, inside the Green Valley Ranch Resort, is also to participating in this year’s event and has 54 volunteers signed up.

“It’s a big sacrifice to lose your hair, but then it isn’t … It’s what you get after you’ve shaved your head that are the reasons that you know you did the right thing,” said McMullan, who has shaved her hair two years in a row, along with her husband, Brian.

“You get so much recognition from peers, family members, and school friends and things like that. I think it’s a very strong motivation for people to know they’re doing something substantial,” McMullan said.

For the McMullans, St. Baldrick’s is personal. It keeps their daughter’s memory alive and serves as an outlet for people with similar stories, McMullan said.

“My daughter was 100 percent of the inspiration behind it. Until you’re touched by this, with a child who gets very ill, you don’t really understand what is going on out there. The word ‘oncology’ doesn’t mean very much until it really affects you,” she said. “It’s never going to get a whole lot easier for us, even now it’s 13 years. It’s still the same in many ways as it is for every other family that has had to go through this.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Quinn’s and McMullan’s Irish pubs have raised $102,326 together -- and the numbers keep going up, despite the down economy.

“I thought we would have a terrible time. I’m surprised at the number of shavees and more so at the amount of money that we already have. I don’t know where it’s coming from, I really don’t,” she said.

Brian McMullan will shave his head Saturday but Lynn hasn’t made a definite choice yet.

“Maybe I’ll put out a figure of $5,000 on the day and say ‘hey, if we can raise $5,000 I’ll shave my head,” said a smiling McMullan at the thought of shaving her head again.

Only licensed barbers and cosmetologists can shave the participants.

All of the money raised goes to St. Baldrick’s and is re-distributed to 200 comprehensive cancer organizations that use the funds to research pediatric cancers.