Within five minutes of signing up, George Mason head lacrosse coach Jessy Morgan received an email.
She didn’t know the person. But the sender just wanted to thank Morgan for volunteering her time, money – and hair – to help fund research for pediatric cancer. This complete stranger also wanted to pledge $50 to Morgan’s fundraising efforts.
There was no turning back now.
Not that Morgan had any intention to. This was a cause she first heard about when she was a student-athlete at the University of Virginia. She had always been interested in giving back and, now, after months of raising donations, she’ll try to play a small part in what she believes is a worthy cause.
On Saturday, Morgan will shave her head to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. She’ll participate in the Be Epic Shave Event and Silent Auction at O’Faolain’s Restaurant in Sterling, Va., where more than 30 people will say goodbye to their hair.
To this point, Morgan has raised more than anyone in the local group – $2,800. She has been surprised by the donations she has received from family, friends, parents of players she has coached and even total strangers.
“I put out a goal of $500 and I would have been ecstatic to get that,” she said. “It wasn’t really about the dollar amount. I tried to just raise awareness. I’m trying to bring awareness to everyone’s busy life that you need to take time to do something for somebody else. That is really why I did it.
“A lot of causes come across people’s desks. Not very often am I myself moved to donate money to things. I’m surprised that people felt like this is a cause they could get behind to this extent.”
St. Baldrick’s Foundation began in 2000 by two friends who decided to shave their heads – out of solidarity with children who lose their hair during cancer treatment and to raise money for childhood cancer research. Since 2005, the foundation has raised more than $178 million.
Morgan took an interest in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation due to her own personal experience.
More than three years ago, when she was an assistant lacrosse coach at Virginia, she would hop in the car every weekend for three months and head north.
As she made the three-hour trip from Charlottesville back home to Baltimore, her mind raced as she hurried to see her ailing grandmother. Cancer took Agnes Morgan’s life and the ordeal took a toll on the entire Morgan family, especially Jessy, the youngest grandchild. Agnes Morgan was the first of Jessy’s grandparents to pass away.
But, as she was coping, Jessy thought of others not as fortunate. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation mission came to mind. Morgan couldn’t begin to comprehend the pain so many parents endure with losing their children to cancer.
“To think about somebody going through that same process with a child was just… I couldn’t imagine,” said Morgan, who also lost her grandfather, Dr. John Braxton, earlier this year. “My grandmother had cancer. It was the hardest thing I ever had to deal with. I just kind of related that to how would you go through this with a child? When you have something cut so short it is so much harder to understand.”
Having just finished up her second season as Mason’s head coach, Morgan believes now is as good of a time as any to participate in a purpose she feels so strongly about.
In February, at a Cancer Awareness Night sponsored by the lacrosse team, she told her players and their parents and families of her plans to shave her head. The word has spread through social media and has received messages of support almost every day from friends, strangers – even her classmates in her MBA program at Mason.
As for losing her hair, Morgan admits that will take some getting used to. Her last haircut was about six months ago and her dark hair currently flows past her shoulders. She once had her hair cut to her chin – “That was terrible,” she recalls – and vowed never to cut it that short again.
But if losing her hair means bringing more attention to a worthy and life-saving cause, she is more than happy to part ways.
“Hair is important just because it is so much of everyone’s identity, especially a woman,” she said. “I know my scalp is going to look crazy. I am nervous. It is definitely a part of my persona. I’ve always had curly hair or really long hair. (But) I’m going to get rid of something to hopefully add. It is addition by subtraction. I’m hoping to bring a better focus and mindfulness to myself.
“To a lot of people, it is like, ‘Oh my god, I could never do that.’ To me, this is the least I could do. Some people dedicate their whole lives to causes. I can dedicate my hair. This is nothing compared to what some people do.”
Donations to Morgan’s cause are still being accepted and can be made here. To learn more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, visit their website here.
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