A good story from the Herald Times.
By Mike Leonard, Herald Times
The old challenge was to put your money where your mouth is.
The new one might be called putting your hair where your heart is.
Indiana University athletic director Fred Glass has been so moved by the difficulties faced by children fighting cancer that he’s offering to have his head shaved to raise money for childhood cancer research.
He’ll face the unforgiving electric razor on March 11 at the annual St. Baldrick’s fundraising event at the Northside Knights of Columbus Hall in Indianapolis.
“Fred has really nice hair. It’s a sacrifice worth a lot of money,” said Chuck Chamness, an organizer of the event. “I know I will pay to see Fred bald.”
Actually, Chamness’ son, Joey, is one of the reasons Glass is participating in the fundraiser. About six years ago,when he was 8, the boy complained to his parents that his leg was hurting consistently — more than what seemed like the normal bumps, bruises and strains that an active, soccer-playing kid expects to feel. His parents, Chuck and Briget took him to the pediatrician and within days learned that he had osteosarcoma, a common and serious form of childhood cancer.
“It’s funny that so often, when kids find out they have cancer, the first thing they ask is not `Am I going to live?’ but `Am I going to go bald?'” Glass said. “That was Joey’s response, too.”
The Chamnesses sought treatment strategies from both Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York. Ultimately, they chose Sloan-Kettering for Joey’s requisite surgery and Riley for the follow-up chemotherapy.
And not only did Dad and his twin brother, Robbie, shave their heads in solidarity; so did many of Joey’s schoolmates at St. Thomas Aquinas School.
During their ordeal, the family learned of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization founded in New York that raises money for children’s cancer research by getting people to pledge money to see friends, relatives and others get their heads shaved.
“The beautiful thing about it all is that it not only raises money for cancer research but gets people together to show empathy for these kids who lose their hair as a consequence of their chemotherapy,” Chamness said.
The founders hoped to raise $17,000 with their first “shaving” event on March 17, 2000, and were astonished to bring in $104,000. Today, St. Baldrick’s events have spread to all 50 states and 28 countries, and the foundation is the leading provider of childhood cancer research funding outside of the U.S. government. It has raised over $87 million since its founding.
“One of the sad facts of life is that the number of kids affected by cancer is small enough that there’s not enough market to interest the pharmaceutical companies to invest much in research on their own,” Chamness said. Now in its sixth year, the Indianapolis “Bald is Beautiful” event has raised nearly $250,000 for childhood cancer research.
IU’s Glass and his wife, Barbara, have another motivation for participating in St. Baldrick’s as well. Longtime friends Mike and Patrice Schroeder also had a son afflicted by cancer. Four years after being diagnosed with brain cancer, young Michael died at age 12.
Joey Chamness was back in New York at Sloan-Kettering last week, having another surgery done to correct developmental problems with the bone grafting done during his initial cancer treatment. Six years out from his original diagnosis, he’s considered a survivor. But those who don’t make it are never far from your mind, Chuck Chamness said.
“Every roommate that Joey’s had at Kettering has later died,” he said. “His roommate this time was this cute teenage kid. Sometimes all you can do is block negative thoughts out of your mind and hope that these other kids will be survivors, too.”
Chamness is a Bloomington native, a 1981 graduate of Bloomington High School North and a 1985 graduate of IU. His mother, Luanne, is a retired teacher who still lives in Bloomington.
Chamness said he hopes that his old friends, and friends and associates of Glass, will consider donating to the Glass shaving event in March.
“They certainly make it easy to do,” he said. “You can just go online and donate — just click on the `participants’ tab and type in `Fred Glass’ — and we also take checks and cash at the event as well.”
Chamness said he’s not only gratified that his friend is participating but that it reflects well on his alma mater.
“He’s a public figure,” he said. “I think for someone like him who is in the public light to do something like this makes it all the more amazing and meaningful. It’s not like people won’t notice.”
There are other reasons why Chamness believes Glass deserves big credit as well.
“First of all, he’s been one of the most generous contributors when I’ve had my head shaved each year,” he said. “But for Fred to do it this year — his oldest, Katie, is getting married in June. I think that was a concern for Fred and Barbara, and Katie, about what he was going to look like on her wedding day. I mean, really, those are family pictures that will last a lifetime.”
“There was some concern I’d look like a goof,” Glass acknowledged with a chuckle. “It’s literally three months from the day I get shaved to the day I walk her down the aisle. I’ve been assured that I’ll look fine, or at least as good as I can look.”

About the event
This year’s St. Baldrick’s event will be March 12 at the Northside Knights of Columbus Hall, 2100 E. 71st St., Indianapolis, from 6:30 to 11 p.m. There will be a buffet dinner and bar, a live auction, entertainment, eight barbers and 50 shaved heads.
How to help
Prospective donors can go to www.stbaldricks.org at any time to make a donation. Click on “Find a Participant,” enter “Fred Glass,” and the website will provide instructions on how to donate.