My dear friend Jim writes about St. Baldrick’s, a cause close to so many hearts. As it should be. Please take a minute and read about Chow Downey, and the people who will be walking around Syracuse with shaved heads to help these children and their families.
Here’s the link to the story I wrote about Jim McKeever and the 2014 St. Baldrick’s event at Kitty Hoynes in Syracuse.
Chow Downey, master of ceremonies at Syracuse’s St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser for pediatric cancer research, readies an encouraging fist-bump to a young “shavee” about to go bald for a good cause.
It takes thousands of volunteers and donors to raise almost $500,000 for pediatric cancer research at one event. It also takes one hell of a master of ceremonies to pull it off.
Meet Charles “Chow” Downey. He presides over the annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser at Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub in Syracuse, NY. He’ll do it again Sunday, for the 11th consecutive year.
The Kitty Hoynes fundraiser has ranked in the top five St. Baldrick’s events worldwide each of the past several years — a remarkable feat for a financially struggling Snow Belt city. “It’s a tight-knit community,” Chow said of Syracuse. “People stick around. And those who leave miss it.”
In its first 10 years, the Syracuse event has raised more…
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Mark Bialczak 
I participated in a St. Baldrick’s Day event in Richfield Springs two years ago. It was cool, but the event was not as well organized and moving as this one sounds. I’ve been talking in a vague sort of way about doing it again. My only hesitation is that I HATE asking people for money. But I think it may be time to go bald again. You’ll read about it in my blog if I do! Thanks for the nudge.
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Any time, MVG. And when you do it again, that is the tiime for a eybrow-and-above photo on your blog. 🙂
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Oh, I am so NOT photogenic. In addition to neither having a camera nor a scanner.
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Smart phone = blog post photo, MVG. And I bet you’re plenty photogenic, what with local drama leads on your resume. My guess, anyway. 😉
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Eventually I’ll get me one of them there smart phones. Right now my phone is as dumb as I am. But one day…
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I dragged my feet against the smart phone for a long time. I understand.
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Dude, it’s economics. I can barely afford the crappy cell I have. I keep wanting to switch to a Trac phone (however you spell it), which I understand is cheaper.
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I had the TracPhone plan (whatever spelling) first, and got sick of it because the minutes were way expensive. Then I switeched to T-Mobile by the minute, which was less expensive, but the coverage sucked. I couldn’t get reception anywhere outside Syracuse or a city. Hated that. Now with the iPhone, I go with AT&T. Yes, it’s expensive, but I bundle my phone, Karen’s phone, and my iPad, and the plan costs actually keep adding data limits with costs going down, because of better technology and competition among carriers, I guess. I need it because I use the photos in my paid freelance blogs, too. And since I added AdWorks to my blog, I make pennies a day from WordPress. Tax deductions also. So I can’t get around it …
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What a great guy. I don’t think any of your readers can say their lives haven’t been touched by cancer. What a crap disease.
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You said it so well, Shelley. What a crap disease.
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love hearing the stories about how people care and do amazing things. Thanks for sharing!
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St. Baldrick’s raises a lot of money and awareness, and men, women and children of all ages get their heads shaved, Liz. It’s an amazing event.
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Now that’s my kind of fundraiser. Thanks for sharing, Mark.
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I hope you tell Jim, Angie McFly. He picks an ill child to support, raises money and gets his head shaved every year!
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I will! I’ll tell him that you sent me 😀
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this is beautiful and a cause dear to my heart. what beautiful, caring souls –
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Yes, Beth, I remember your brother’s great work because of your family loss, my friend, and will be forever sad and admire he and your family for your strength.
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