On Saturday, April 23, the 15th Annual Hudson Valley St. Baldrick’s event will be held to help those fighting childhood cancer. The event will take place at the Walden Fire Department, 230 Old Orange Avenue, beginning at 2 p.m. and will include head shaving, music, food, face painting, 50/50 and a tricky tray.

St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer and donor driven charity committed to research and finding cures for childhood cancer. Hudson Valley St. Baldrick’s Volunteer Event Organizer Kristie Hall, along with fellow volunteer organizers Tina Quinlan and Tabitha Bliss, work together with their committee to make the event successful every year.

Hudson Valley St. Baldrick’s started nearly two decades ago when Walden resident and Hall’s cousin Robbie Brown attended the event in North Carolina while visiting a relative. Brown loved the idea, and when he came home, Hudson Valley St. Baldrick’s came to life in memory of Megan Dunn - Robbie and Kristie’s cousin. Each year at the event, Megan’s Aunt Mary Kate McNamee sets up a table, pictures and memories she has of Megan. She is joined by volunteers with Team Union House to provide the delicious food and raise money in memory of Megan. This year, Megan’s mom, Joann McNamee will be shaving once again in memory of her daughter.

The event is a fan favorite because all ages are able to participate. “Kids and adults of all ages can be involved and while the head shaving event is our main event, you can shave a beard, get a little cut or however you want to help,” explained Hall. “The funds that we raise every year go back to the main organization and from there they are given to local facilities that benefit children with cancer in the form of grants and research to help fun clinical trials.” Recipients include the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Westchester among others in the tri-state area which directly benefit Hudson Valley children and their families.

Hall shared that the Covid pandemic hurt the fundraising efforts over the past two years and the impact is still being felt this year, but event organizers are hopeful that this year will be successful. “Covid unfortunately really hurt us quite a bit. In 2020, we ended up needing to postpone the event and had a virtual option and last year’s event kept getting pushed back,” Hall explained. As of November 2021, the Hudson Valley St. Baldrick’s event raised over a half a million dollars locally.

For more information about the 15th Annual Hudson Valley St. Baldrick’s event, to sign up to be a shavee or to make a donation please visit stbaldricks.org/events/HudsonValley2022.