Newswise — Oakland, CA (March 30, 2015) - UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland hosted its 8th annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation signature head-shaving event on March 13 and March 14 and made over $215,000 for life-saving childhood cancer research. Two-hundred and forty-two participants shaved their heads to support the event that seeks to conquer childhood cancers. Shave-a-thon participants at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland have cumulatively raised $1.4 million for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest non-government funder of childhood cancer grants worldwide.
Among the top fundraisers at this year’s event were the veteran-led team GoRuck Norcal, who raised over $56,000 and team Blackhawk2015 who raised over $34,000. Team #dropkickrhabdo comprised mainly of UCSF Benioff Oakland nurses raised almost $17,000. Head-shavees also included members of the Oakland Fire Department, the Oakland Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the San Francisco Police Department, as well as UCSF Benioff Oakland nurses, doctors, residents, interns and patient families and friends.
Worldwide, a child is diagnosed with cancer every three minutes, and one in five children diagnosed in the U.S. will not survive. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation hosts head-shaving events during which volunteers collect pledges and shave their heads in solidarity with children fighting cancer. It's a time when families and caregivers get to work together for the future. For more information, check out UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital St. Baldrick’s event page.
Next year’s St. Baldrick’s Shave-a-thon at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland is scheduled for March 11 and 12, 2016.
About UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital OaklandUCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland (formerly Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland) is a premier, not-for-profit medical center for children in Northern California, and is the only hospital in the East Bay 100% devoted to pediatrics. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland affiliated with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco on January 1, 2014. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland is a national leader in many pediatric specialties including cardiology, hematology/oncology, neonatology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and sports medicine. The hospital is one of only five ACS Pediatric Level I Trauma Centers in the state, and has one of largest pediatric intensive care units in Northern California. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has 190 licensed beds, over 500 physicians in 43 specialties, more than 2,600 employees, and a consolidated annual operating budget of more than $500 million. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland is also a leading teaching hospital with an outstanding pediatric residency program and a number of unique pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs.
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland’s research arm, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), is internationally known for its basic and clinical research. CHORI is at the forefront of translating research into interventions for treating and preventing human diseases. CHORI has 250 members of its investigative staff, a budget of about $50 million, and is ranked among the nation’s top ten research centers for National Institutes of Health funding to children’s hospitals. For more information, go to www.childrenshospitaloakland.org and www.chori.org.
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Contact: Melinda Krigel (510) 428-3069(510) 388-5927[email protected]
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