It’s not often we get to celebrate kindness and generosity here at Glosslip. In the world of celebrities, selfless acts aren’t the norm, but in the real world, there are real people doing amazing things to help others. We are humbled to share one of their stories.

Amy Patel, after finding out a high school friend’s child was diagnosed with cancer, wanted to help and has come up with a unique way of doing so. More about Amy’s efforts from the Huntsville Times:

Dramatic gestures are not uncommon for Patel, who is the theater teacher at Butler High School. And going bald on purpose, as she has called her cause, is a dramatic statement to raise awareness of childhood cancer.

“It’s the extreme makeover edition,” Patel said.

Patel decided to raise money for St. Jude’s after she asked her friend, Melissa Shuford Thomason, what she could do to help. Thomason, who lives in Birmingham, suggested making a donation to cancer research or to the hospital.

Thomason’s son, Evan, spent months at St. Jude’s in Memphis and returns every week for treatment. He still has cancer, but he has grown his hair back, attends school, plays baseball and is in Cub Scouts.

“St. Jude’s has become part of our family,” Thomason said.

As she explored ways to raise money, Patel learned about a program called St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Participants shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research organizations.

Because she wanted her money to go to St. Jude’s, Patel has gone out on her own with her head-shaving efforts. The St. Jude 5K Race in Florence, she decided, was the place to do it.

So tonight, she’ll run her first 5K race and then her hairdresser, Jonathan Fowler, will break out the razor.

She doesn’t like to use the word sacrifice, but she’s definitely leaving her comfort zone.

“I know it will grow back, but I know it’s going to take awhile,” which is why she’s been buying lots of hats, she said.

One concern the Patels had was that people would think she was sick.

She’s had a T-shirt printed saying “I shaved my head for a child with cancer.” She’s also thought about wearing a button that says “Ask me why I shaved my head.”

“I hope we will create a situation that we will talk about it,” Patel said. “We avert our eyes from things that are painful, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s there.”

Amy has a website, BaldOnPurpose, where you can see pictures and video of Amy shaving her head, including before and after pictures. Amy, who was a beauty before she shaved, is even more gorgeous sans hair, must be that inner grace showing through.

Here’s a link to Amy’s St. Jude’s donation page, where Amy and her husband Sandy are collecting donations to help sick children like her little friend Evan.

Amy has raised $4425 and her goal is $5000.00 — if there is anything you can do to help, this is a great cause.

(Many thanks to my good friend Suli who shared Amy’s story with me, and that of little Evan Thomason.)

Source: D

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