Friday, October 17, 2014

Be Bold, Be Bald Day

October 17th is national be bold, be bald day (www.beboldbebald.org). I had never heard of it before this morning but its the 6th annual. I am not so sure how I feel about this.

If you are a supporter, you get to wear a lovely bald cap (which looks nothing like a bald head) to show your support of people who have lost their hair as a result of cancer treatment. Once you sign up you can order your kit of a bald cap and sign up sheets or you can order bulk quantities of bald caps for your team.

You can sign up your organization to be a beneficiary of the BBBB effort. Then you will receive about 75% of what was raised by your supporters.

I have decided I have two problems with this effort:
  1. All the smiling people wearing ugly bald caps over long hair do not make me think of cancer patients. 
  2. 25% of the amounts raised don't make it to you.
I have a friend of mine who shaved his head to show support for someone with cancer. That is what I call bald. But it still doesn't have that chemo pallor we all know and love. And its not worth 25% of your money to wear an ugly bald cap.


How ugly are these bald caps? this is a picture of actress Kathy Bates wearing one of these.


Now that I have written all this I guess I have decided I don't really like this much at all. I like the solidarity but that's about it.

6 comments:

Kathryn said...

I have to say, I really don't like this at all. It seems like a weird kind of make believe to pretend you "get" cancer without having to understand any of the really hard things about it (you know, like not feeling well and trying to not die from cancer). Plus "bald" isn't bald when it looks like a swimcap and you can whip it off at any time and shake out a lovely head of healthy hair.

I'm sure lots of people do it for good and loving reasons, but it strikes me as a lot of attention seeking without very much actual value.

Jeff Freedman said...

Caroline, I came across this post about Be Bold Be Bald (BBBB) and, as the founder of the event, wanted to share some more info with you. You are clearly entitled to your opinions, but I think some additional facts could help shape that for you and your readers. My company started BBBB after we lost my co-founder to cancer in 2007. It was a very difficult, yet eye-opening experience for all of us. But, most importantly, during his 2-year battle, we watched him demonstrate that strength has little to do with outward appearances. While his bald head and loss of weight made him look weak, he was one of the strongest people we have ever known. BBBB is intended to demonstrate that true strength pushes vanity aside. (NOTE: He specifically didn't want people to shave their heads on his behalf). Wearing the bald cap is a vanity challenge - and while it may not make people look perfectly bald, it is not an easy thing to do for a day . The cap is also intended as a conversation starter, and many people write on their cap and use it as a canvas to tell their story. Also, our website states that we guarantee that each beneficiary will receive at least 75% of the funds raised for them each year as we cannot always anticipate revenue and expenses. However, to date, we have granted 100% of the funds raised for each beneficiary to the beneficiary every year. For comparison, when charities run their own fundraising events, they have many expenses associated with them (credit card fees, marketing, room rentals, food, etc.) and rarely have a 75% net profit on those events. I would encourage you to speak with any of our beneficiaries or participants about this event - or visit our facebook page (http://facebook.com/beboldbebald) to learn more about what our community (including survivors, friends and family members) think about the event. At the end of the day, we are simply trying to bring together a community to honor those who bravely battle cancer, and raise money to strengthen the fight. Thank you for listening (or in this case, reading). -Jeff

Caroline said...

Jeff, you are also entitled to your opinion but as someone who has lost their hair, a bad ball cap doesn't cut it. It can be taken off at anytime and is only worn for one day anyway. I guess it doesn't work for me. And based on the other blogger who commented, maybe you need to rethink your bald caps. Yes they raise awareness but....

eileen@womaninthehat said...

How ugly are those bald caps? Let me count the ways!

Unknown said...

Wearing a bald cap is not an easy thing to do jeff? No it is easy. Chemo is hard.

Unknown said...

Kathy Bates Weight Loss More Than 60 Pounds
https://allforyourbeauty.com/articles/view/kathy-bates-weight-loss-more-than-60-pounds

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