OICR participates in Great Canadian Head Shave
Dr. Tom Hudson speaks to CITY-TV as a reporter shaves his head and other members of the OICR team look on,
(CPimages/S. Lake)
On Friday, September 11 a team of four OICR “shavees” participated in the third annual Great Canadian Head Shave at Brookfield Place, shaving their heads to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.
Participants at the downtown Toronto event this year raised over $10,000 for cancer research through pledges from family, friends and coworkers. Over the past three years the event has raised an estimated $50,000 .
This was the second year that OICR staff participated in the head shave. This year’s team was made up of four “shavees”: Tom Hudson, Steve Durant, Marc Perry and SGC’s Chief Executive Aled Edwards. All proceeds raised went to The Terry Fox Foundation for a broad spectrum of cancer research in Canada.
“We all admire our brave shavees” said Bruna Raimondo, Manager, Special Projects for The Terry Fox Foundation, at the event. “We thank them for coming out and showing their solidarity with people who are living with cancer today.”
First time participant Marc Perry, a Scientific Associate in the Informatics and Biocomputing Platform at OICR, was extremely enthusiastic about his experience. “It was wonderfully fun,” Perry said, adding that he was amazed at the outpouring of support from coworkers, family and friends. He also found fundraising easier than expected: The Terry Fox Foundation provided all participants with an online page to securely collect donations, and Perry used Facebook to announce his involvement and keep family and friends up-to-date on his progress.
As for actually getting rid of his hair? “I ran the idea by my family before I joined the OICR team and my four-year old son started chanting ‘Shave it! Shave it!’, so that made it easier. Everyone has been extremely supportive in complimenting my new look, which almost makes me think I should have tried it ages ago.”
The event is held annually to raise funds and awareness about cancer research and fits in with the Terry Fox Foundation’s inclusive approach to fundraising, which focuses on non-competitive, family oriented events with no minimum participation fees. Participants are encouraged to shave off all their hair, but can opt to get a buzz cut if they find the full shave too extreme.
CITY-TV broadcast live from the event and interviewed Tom Hudson about OICR’s translational research programs and OICR’s continued relationship with the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI).
