Kids & Family

Lemont Police, Fire Step Up for St. Baldrick's

Lemont cops and firefighters will contribute to a noble cause this weekend.

Lemont's guns and hoses will go under the clippers for a good cause Saturday, March 15. 

Police officers and firefighters have signed up for St. Baldrick's Day, a volunteer-driven charity that raises funds to help find cures for childhood cancers. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a national non-profit organization that raises money for childhood cancer research. Volunteers with the organization typically host special events in which they shave their heads in solidarity with children who lost their hair during cancer treatment.
 
Led by Police Chaplain Terri O'Neiil-Borders, Lemont police are drumming up support for the cause, with a goal of $500. Eighteen Lemont firefighters will also shave their heads in memory of a coworker's daughter Macy Ganz, who lost her battle with cancer at just over 3 years old.

"I am so proud and excited to be leading a team effort for the Lemont Police Department at this coming Saturday's St Baldrick's Bolingbrook Event," O'Neill-Borders wrote. The cause is close to her heart. 

"A soft spot in my heart has always been for children who are battling cancer.  I was one of the top fundraisers for St. Jude Children's Hospital for 12 years knowing that every dollar was important to not only treat but to research how the early diagnosis could make the numbers of those battling less and less," O'Neill-Borders wrote. 

"My father waged his battle with cancer for almost two full years.  During his many stays at Lutheran General Hospital he would look at the signs pointing to the pediatric cancer floors and tell me that he would take his battle a hundred times over to prevent one child from having to carry this weight and feel this pain," she said. 

"Continuing in his memory, I take any opportunity possible to help raise funds to make pediatric cancer a memory not a reality."

Both groups will go bald during the March 15 Bolingbrook 4 Kids St. Baldrick's event at Bolingbrook Golf Club.


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