For the fourth straight fall, the Virginia Tech baseball team held its annual "Shave for the Brave" event, with more than 60 players, coaches, staff members and friends and family of the Hokies shaving their heads to bring awareness to childhood cancer.
The event was held in association with the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which supports childhood cancer research, and the “46 Mommas Shave for the Brave” organization.
Thanks mostly to funds donated through the Internet – on the team’s official donation page at http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/9105/2013 – the program reached its targeted goal of $25,000. The page, as of Sept. 30, showed a sum of $22,503, but does not include almost $3,000 committed to the event through cash donations, checks and company cash matches.
“Our ‘Shave for the Brave’ event was once again a tremendous success,” Tech coach Pat Mason said. “The support from Hokieball Nation was truly amazing. On behalf of Virginia Tech baseball, I would like to thank everyone for their contributions.
“I would also like to recognize our players, managers and staff for their efforts and commitment to the cause. I could not be more proud of what they did for this event.”
The event is held in conjunction with the efforts put forth by Melina Brown, whose son, Levi – an adopted member of the Tech baseball team – was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a highly malignant primary brain tumor, when he was 4. Now 13, he is cancer free, but every day, 46 mothers in the United States are told their child has cancer, so the fight never ends.
The Hokies started their annual event in 2010, and adding this year’s total, the team has raised more than $65,000 for childhood cancer research.
