On Saturday, March 21, Finn McCool’s Irish Pub in Mid-City will host a St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event to fight pediatric cancer.

St. Baldrick’s participant Summer Gebhart of the Dames de Perlage.

St. Baldrick’s is a volunteer-powered charity organization dedicated to finding cures for childhood cancers and helping patients and their families live healthy, happy lives.

The grants they choose to support are meticulously researched to ensure that every dollar is spent as effectively as possible.

Their well-known head-shaving events take place throughout the US and beyond. Voluntary head-shaving serves several purposes: it’s an act of solidarity with cancer patients that lose their hair to chemotherapy, the hair can then go to making wigs for these patients, and hopefully the sacrifice motivates friends, family, and supporters to help shavees meet their fundraising goals.

This year, the Dames de Perlage marching krewe, fresh off their Mardi Gras festivities, are hitting the fundraising circuit hard in support of Dame Summer Gebhart, one of over 80 shavees at the upcoming New Orleans event.

They’ve already surpassed the original goal of $3,000, and they hope to make it all the way to $6,000 by the morning of the event.

According to Gebhart, St. Baldrick’s is a much better option than other similar organizations.

“Locks of Love only donates to people with permanent hair loss, and they also charge for their hair,” she said. “This is for free. And when St. Baldrick’s files the hair, the trimmings go to oil cleanup companies that use hair for oil absorption.”

The shaving begins at 11:30 a.m., featuring celebrity shavee Garrett Hartley (the former Saints placekicker responsible for the field goal that won the NFC Championship five years ago.) There will also be a silent auction.

To help Gebhart and the Dames fight the fight, you can make a donation here.

Dennis Terry is another participant, with a fundraising goal of $5000.

If he reaches his goal, Terry will give a signed 1981 Jazz Fest Poster to one of his donors.

The poster is signed by the artist, K.N. Martin, and the lucky winner will be selected in a drawing at Finn McCool’s on Saturday.

To help support the cause, visit his fundraising page here.