My family and I are so excited for Sacramento's annual St. Patrick's Day block party, and we hope that every year we can create a better
experience for everyone.

After a year of reflection and many debates, we have decided to add a charitable aspect to our block party. We felt that we had a wonderful
opportunity to bring Sacramentans together for St. Patrick's Day, and that we could do so while giving back to the community that has been
so supportive of us.

This year we have two charity events that take place during our block party on March 17. The 20/30 Club will be raising money for the UC Davis Medical Center Children's Cancer Center, and local firefighters will be cooking the event's food to raise money for the Burn Institute.

We also have an amazing charity event that takes place March 15 at de Vere's. This year we have the privilege to host alongside the Keaton Raphael Memorial the annual St. Baldrick's Day event.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. At St. Baldrick's events all throughout the year, brave volunteers shave their heads, raising funds for research. Like runners in a marathon, "shavees" collect donations from family, friends and associates. The foundation receives these funds and makes grants to research experts to find new and better treatments for fighting kids' cancers.

Keaton Raphael Memorial is the host and event organizers for both the Roseville and Sacramento events.

“Shaving my head in 2003 in honor of my son Keaton remains one of the highlights of my life," said Robyn Raphael, founder of The Keaton Raphael Memorial. "I gave only hair. Keaton gave his life!”

KRM is a local childhood cancer organization established in 1998 that raises funds to assist local childhood cancer families and childhood cancer research.

Since 2003, KRM has shaved thousands of heads. This year will mark the eighth Annual St. Baldrick’s Celebrations KRM has hosted. The Keaton Raphael Memorial hosts some of the largest St. Baldrick’s celebrations in the nation. In 2009, 565 heads were shaved - 35 of which were women - and a total of $125,887 was raised.

We hope that we can gain the support of the community for this event that will now take place at our pub annually. This great cause will be a wonderful way to start off our St. Patrick's Day celebrations every year.

St. Baldrick's Day originated on the east coast in pubs as a way to raise money for childhood cancer research and now has participants all
over the country. We are proud to be able to host this event and keep the tradition of St. Baldrick's alive. One hundred percent of the money raised during this event is donated to research and ultimately contributes to saving lives.

Donations can come in a few forms, from shaving one's hair to monetary support or even volunteering your services to help at local St. Baldrick's events. If you are interested in learning more or participating in any way, please check out the site here. For the record, I'm shaving what hair I have! There are a few other Sacramentans getting involved in the before-and-after fund raiser, and I salute them for it.

Please support our Northern California families by shaving your head and raising money to help find a cure.