Dave Bachrach:
Be Brave and Shave
by David Bachrach
In early March, 2011, I participated in “Be Brave and Shave,” an event to raise funds toward a new outpatient clinic for the Children’s Hospital, in Washington DC. With this clinic, the doctors can shorten kids’ stay in isolation during treatment, decrease exposure to disease during outpatient visits, and reduce anxiety for children and their parents. Over 30 dads from my synagogue – and some of our sons – stepped forward for this event. Not only did it raise the funds we were seeking, but it built camaraderie among men that didn’t necessarily know each other (we have over 1,000 members).
At first I was determined to help only from the sidelines, possibly just donating on some friends’ web pages, or serving food at the event itself, but then I watched a video that helped me see just how much impact I could have on sick children, even if I brought in just a few hundred dollars. I don’t like asking for money – I’d give money any day before I’d ask for it – so I set up a solicitation webpage with some reluctance. I sent out one e-mail message to my family and friends that don’t use Facebook, and I let facebook do the rest. The response was wonderful – friends from high school that I hadn’t seen in several decades sponsored me, as did other parents from my kids’ schools, and other dads participating in the Shave. I even had one client – unsolicited – make a generous contribution the week before the event. Some of the most touching messages I received were from people who had themselves survived cancer, or shepherded a child through that kind of treatment.
On the day of the Save itself – a Sunday afternoon – I was a bit lightheaded from all the commotion. News media were there, there was a raffle, and I must have counted 200 people in the social hall. We hoped for 20 dads to participate, but we ended up with 35 dads and eight sons. Together we raised about $200,000 toward the renovation needs of the new clinic. It is a perfect example of a community achieving something that any one person really couldn’t. Anyway, after the organizers took me down to a buzz cut, I lathered up my noggin and the dad of one of the patients at Childrens’, along with my wife, Melanie, shaved my head down to the scalp. I felt that donors did not pay good money to see me just with a buzzcut.
In addition to raising the funds, I was able to see what a bald David would look like (hint: pretty ridiculous) and I got to practice some humility as I continued working and recreating as usual, with people who suddenly had no idea who I was. Some assumed I was ill myself, while others chalked it up to some drunken dare. The entertainment value has been an unexpected benefit of this event. In the end, I feel so proud that I was brave, and shaved.
