St. Baldrick's fundraiser nets $37,500

Hoffman Estates police officer Peter Edgar has plenty to be thankful for.

His 2-year-old daughter, Ava, continues to smile more than a year after doctors removed her right eye due to a tumor.

After the surgery last year, the Edgars held a head-shaving event in Hoffman Estates to benefit the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which funds childhood cancer research. The event and online donations raised $13,400.

With his daughter healing, Edgar, who has spent close to 13 years with the police department, organized another head-shaving event April 17 at the Neighborhood Inn bar. About 300 people showed up and they shattered last year's mark, raising $37,500.

At the fundraisers, both police officers and other participants shed their locks. Edgar said there's anticipation to do it all again next year, with more music and more donations.

"The event was a huge success," he wrote via e-mail.

The Edgars have been a little busy recently, as Ava's mother, Sarah, was set to give birth to the couple's second child. Ava is going to become a big sister.