Valpo Men's Soccer Hosts St. Baldrick's Fundraiser

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Early Sunday afternoon, dozens of onlookers with cameras drawn formed a semi-circle in the Athletics-Recreation Center on the campus of Valparaiso University, jostling for a better angle.

Surprisingly, the crowd had nothing to do with the Horizon League champion Crusaders men’s basketball team, or any of Valpo’s other sports teams. Instead, the crowd was watching as barbers from the local Great Clips hair salon shaved the heads of university president Dr. Mark Heckler and his wife, Veronica.

Dr. and Mrs. Heckler were going bald as a sign of solidarity with cancer patients – especially children affected by the disease – as part of a fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation hosted by the school’s men’s soccer program.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is one of the top organizations for raising and distributing money for cancer research. The focus is on fighting childhood cancers.

“When I was approached last year by the men’s soccer organization here, I wanted to do what I could to help support them and get the ball rolling for campus-wide support,” said Dr. Heckler, who had his head shaved for the second straight year while his wife went under the clippers for the first time. “It’s great that the men’s soccer organization is out here doing this on behalf of St. Baldrick’s.”

The men’s soccer team at Valparaiso was hosting its third fundraiser for the organization, with a goal of $15,000. By the end of the day, the Crusaders and the community had raised over $22,000 – bringing the three-year total to right at $50,000. And that number is expected to rise as last-minute donations continue to trickle in.

“To have the students step up to lead all this, to be highly successful in raising all this money, it makes me hopeful,” Dr. Heckler said. “I think it bodes well for the future and I just want to encourage young people to realize that they can take these kinds of causes into their hands and do some great things. That’s the reason why I’m here to support everybody.”

The idea for the now-annual event was brought to the Crusaders by junior goalkeeper Tom Serratore, who participated in St. Baldrick’s events in high school and on Sunday shaved his head for the seventh consecutive year.

Serratore’s passion for the organization stems in part from having a friend who was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, he wants to rally as much support as he can.

“I’m truly blessed to have a team and a university and a president that have supported this. They’ve allowed it to grow,” Serratore said. “I’ve had these ideas and I wanted them to happen, but without everyone else’s support, it doesn’t happen. It’s been amazing.”

What started as a head-shaving event has transformed into a community gathering featuring a silent auction and concessions. For a $1 donation, participants had the opportunity to take a penalty shot against a member of the Crusaders soccer team. A $2 donation bought the chance to play P-I-G against a player from Valpo’s men’s or women’s basketball teams.

Of course, the head-shaving still takes center stage – especially when the president of the university is the first one in line.

“Your head gets a lot colder than you think it’s going to get,” Dr. Heckler said with a laugh. “This year, I’m prepared. I came with a stocking cap; I’m ready.”

In addition to Dr. Heckler and his wife, others from the Valparaiso community and several of Valpo’s student-athletes shaved their heads for the event, including the entire men’s soccer and men’s tennis teams.

“I think as student-athletes, they have a unique and powerful platform to spread word and to spread energy and to involve all different facets of a community and rally them around one event and one cause,” said Jeff Oleck, the associate head soccer coach who served as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. “There are three areas where we really focus here at Valparaiso: athletics, academics and community. This is just another facet of what we do with our team and with the athletic department as a whole.”

Along with Serratore, Oleck serves as one of the main organizers of the event. Last year, the duo ran into a snag that ended up resulting this year in a second year of participation by Great Clips.

“Last year, Jeff Oleck gave us a call – what was it, two days before? – and said, ‘Look, we had a cancellation, we’re without barbers and I need some help with this,’” said David Thompson, the Great Clips franchisee who owns the branches in Valparaiso, Chesterton, Portage and Michigan City. “It’s a real organic fit since we’re, obviously, a hair salon. We like to do things that are involved in the community and it makes a lot of sense for us to support this cause.”

Community and campus support continue to grow for the event and the cause it represents.

“Cancer touches everyone. This organization really hits home with that,” Serratore said. “To see a child go through cancer, it breaks my heart. As an athlete, you never want to see a kid sidelined. To have the community support this, it shows that we’re willing to get behind it and we want every kid to be cured of cancer.”