Women getting new 'dos for a good cause
As Barrington Village President Karen Darch proclaimed this week: "There's going to be a new look on the village board."
No, none of the seven trustees is stepping down.
Two of them, however, will have a new 'do when they show up for next month's village board meeting.
Both Darch and Trustee Beth Raseman will be getting several inches of their precious locks cut off all in the name of charity.
The two, along with a host of other area women, will get haircuts Saturday as part of this year's Jeffrey Pride Foundation for Pediatric Cancer Research's annual fundraising gala.
"This is just a small thing I can do to help," Darch said.
The foundation was started by Ann and Jim Pride in honor of their 7-year-old son Jeffrey, who died of leukemia in 2000 after spending most of his life fighting the disease.
Janine O. Larson, a friend of the Prides, has been planning the event for two years as a way to help raise money for the foundation.
"The problem with pediatric cancer is that it is so woefully under-funded," she said.
Larson said 12,000 kids are diagnosed each year with cancer and the number of fatalities annually is more than that of asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and AIDS combined.
The idea for the haircutting fundraiser came to Larson after seeing a group of men raise $37,000 for shaving their heads at a previous year's gala.
"I said, 'We can beat that,'Œ" she said.
And that they have. So far, Larson said the women have raised $100,000 for the foundation.
Larson said she's willing to go even shorter than planned if a large donation is pledged.
"If someone gives me a big donation, I will shave my head," Larson said, adding her 9-year-old son is terrified of those prospects.
Darch said she was asked to participate about 10 months ago and since then she has been letting her grow out and raising donations for the cause.
"It is a great, great cause," she said.
The other women participating include Jane Kunzie-Brunner, Paula Herrmann, Jennie Kramer, Karen Powell, Susan Rosenberg and Michelle Gilbert and her daughters Elizabeth and Adrienne.
All of the money raised Saturday at the Westin in Itasca will be donated from the foundation to the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation, which raises funds for childhood cancer research for the Children's Oncology Group, the world's largest cooperative cancer research organization.
Those who aren't attending this weekend's gala but would still like to donate to the foundation can call Larson at (847) 525-4884.
For more information on CureSearch, go to curesearch.com.
• Chad Brooks covers the Barrington area. Contact him at (847) 427-4476 or cbrooks@dailyherald.com with your feedback and story ideas.