BENNINGTON, Vt. — While the hair has grown back and the playing season is well over, the season of giving to support the Southern Vermont College baseball team's fundraising effort for the Vs. Cancer Foundation and its fight against childhood cancer has only hit its halfway point.
Back in April, the SVC baseball players shaved their heads for the fourth straight year to once again support the Vs. Cancer Foundation. The event, which was scheduled to be held March 26, was moved to April 2 due to game postponements resulting from unplayable field conditions; while that April doubleheader was also washed out, the Mountaineers chose to pull out the clippers anyway and cut away their hair in the College's Mountaineer Athletic Center.
PHOTO GALLERY
SVC isn't done yet, however, in trying to raise donations for the Foundation to use in both research for a cure to childhood cancers as well as supporting kids currently suffering from the disease. To make a contribution on behalf of the team, please visit: https://team.vs-cancer.org/fundraise/team?ftid=69482. While Mountaineer head coach Dave Gage plans to renew the team's promise to help raise money for Vs. Cancer and the many kids battling various childhood diseases once again for 2017, the 2016 fundraising campaign will run all the way through the New Year.
"Cancer is a huge part of society and, more specifically, a part of our lives here at SVC," said rising senior captain Joshua Hay (South Glens Falls, N.Y.). "If you ask any person on the team, I'm sure cancer has been a part of their life – whether it is a family member or friend. Having the opportunity to stand up and raise awareness and funds for such a cause hits home for a lot of us. I know I have experienced it firsthand with my mother and, more recently, with my aunt. It's a tough process for everyone involved, and being able to help local children is special. Even something as small as shaving our heads for the cause may mean a lot to those who don't have that choice. This cause is one of my favorite parts of being a part of the Southern Vermont baseball team because we can all relate in our own ways."
Since the team began shaving off its hair in the 2013 campaign, Southern Vermont has raised over $10,000 for childhood cancer research and support for youngsters currently battling various diseases.
The Vs. Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving kids' lives by empowering athletes and communities to fund lifesaving childhood cancer efforts. Based on its "Half and Half" model, half of all the proceeds are given to national childhood cancer research while the other half is given to local childhood cancer hospitals and other efforts. There are about 147 baseball teams around the country that participate in similar events, ranging from professional squads through all three NCAA divisions and down to youth leagues.
"At first, when I heard we were shaving our heads, I got nervous – naturally," added rising sophomore Zack Stacey (Saratoga, N.Y.) who participated in the tradition for the first time in April. "I had not had a buzz cut since the second grade. But, as I thought more and more about it, I realized that it was for a good cause. Fighting childhood cancer is second to none.
"When the time came, I got nervous once again," Stacey continued. "Until I rethought about the cause. Afterward, I felt a little bare, but I got used to it. It feels great to do something relatively new for such a great cause and to be a part of something meaningful."
This past year's campaign had a new, touching experience as the Mountaineers welcomed and listened to Vs. Cancer Foundation founder and CEO Chase Jones in mid-January. Jones shared his story of fighting, and surviving, Stage IV brain cancer, a disease he was diagnosed with when he was just an 18-year-old freshman baseball player at the University of North Carolina. He went on to tell the Southern Vermont team about his journey in establishing Vs. Cancer and building it to what it is today: a nation-wide organization that creates a positive impact on cancer patients and survivors while giving them support that they might not have received otherwise.
For more information on the Foundation and its impact on the battle against kids' cancer, please visit: http://www.vs-cancer.org/.