Colorado Springs community members shave heads for childhood cancer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Most of the people going bald at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub Sunday had a reason to do so: whether they’d suffered loss due to cancer, wanted to see what it was like to have a shaved head, or, in Jennifer Shippy’s case, were inspired by others.

“A good buddy of mine… I used to live in his basement, he started doing St. Baldrick’s ten years ago when I got here to Colorado, and I’ve wanted to do it ever since,” Shippy said.

Shippy is leaving the country, and as part of her “going away,” friends and family, including the son of that “buddy” whose basement she lived in, gathered as she participated in Sunday’s head shaving event at Jack Quinn’s to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

The event at Jack Quinn’s has been held for almost a decade, and it’s just one of a handful across southern Colorado each year where people are going bald and giving back.

“For today’s event, we’ve had close to 40 people have their hair shaved, many of them women, many of them people with long hair, and a large group from Palmer High School was here as well,” Dakota Malacara, Volunteer Event Organizer and MoDo Salon Co-Owner, said. Malacara said MoDo has been hosting events for St. Baldrick’s for 10 years, most of them at Jack Quinn’s. Malacara said they’ve raised $40,000 to date.

Shippy said her team of friends set a goal of $1,500 for the organization, who says its goal is to “conquer childhood cancer.” Shippy said that the team “blew that out of the water,” and she herself donated over $1,000 to the charity.

Malacara said that the event is a great way for barbers to be able to give back... and said the event is personal for him.

“I think many people have had a personal connection with cancer or a loss from cancer,” Malacara said. “I have had a loss of a loved one to cancer.”

“It’s a bit emotional,” Shippy said of her experience, which had the extra layer of a goodbye attached to it. “I saw one of my friends starting to cry, and then I started to cry, and then my husband just jumped in the chair without me knowing it, so… There’s a lot of love.”

Those who don’t have time to make it out to a head shaving event, who are looking for an event near them or who aren’t quite ready to face the razor can still donate to St. Baldrick’s year round at their website.

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