Ventura, Calif. — For the second year in a row Coast Guard members from Station Channel Islands and Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara are shaving their heads in solidarity of children with cancer.
The twenty-two shavees, along with family and volunteers, will converge at the Four Points Sheraton in Ventura Harbor this Saturday, March 21st, to have their heads shaved by local barbers and volunteers. The event is held worldwide by St. Baldrick’s, the world’s largest volunteer-driven fund raising event for childhood cancer research.
Lieutenant Marcus Gherardi, the Commanding Officer of Station Channel Islands Harbor, will be one of the Coast Guard members getting their heads shaved. While Lieutenant Gherardi has never known anyone personally to have cancer, he believes that it affects all of us. “We all joined the Coast Guard to serve others and save lives. This is part of that service to our families and the community.”
Chief Petty Officer Mark Jimenez, stationed at Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara, says his reasons for shaving his head are simple, “To raise awareness.” Like many people who participate, Chief Jimenez has a personal tie to the disease; when he was younger he had a childhood friend and classmate diagnosed with leukemia.
The volunteers across the world will shave their heads in solidarity of children with cancer, while requesting donations of support from friends and family. The contributions that the Coast Guard participants raise along with their head-shaving participation support childhood cancer research.
