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Firefighter Nick Ryon and son Jay |
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Lake County, FL - The Lake County Firefighters Charity is hosting their ever first shave-a-thon on Saturday March 22nd at the Black Bear Smokehouse in Mt Dora. The event will be held in conjunction with a family fun day at the shopping center.
The family fun day will feature a bouncy house, coloring tent, cornhole, food eating competition, music, vendors and much more.
Why are firefighters and others shaving their heads? "Our guys and girls are getting pledges to shave their heads to raise money to support Team Jay and the fight against children's cancer" explains Lt. Brian Gamble, Vice President of the Professional Firefighters of Lake County. Nick Ryon, a Lake County Firefighter, has been by his 7 year old's son bedside at the hospital for over a month. His son, Jay, has been diagnosed with Leukemia and has been receiving aggressive chemo treatments. "Not only are we helping raise funds for the family to help with their mounting medical bills, but we are also showing our support to Jay, Nick & Maggie. Jay faced losing his hair during his chemo and we want to show him that being bald is cool! We all want to be like him. He is our hero" states Gamble."Many people look up to firefighters, but we look up to the bravery and strength that this seven year old is showing."
Anyone interested in joining the firefighters in finding pledges and shaving their head can find more details and register at www.lakefirefightercharity.org. "We are challenging all our surrounding fire departments and law enforcement agencies to join us and see who can raise the most in shaving their heads for this event" Gamble proposes. "We encourage sports teams, entire departments and organizations to join us. It doesn't just have to be a public safety agency either. We welcome sports teams, businesses, military, and anyone that wants to help embrace Team Jay. Individuals are also welcome and encouraged. We already have a scheduled special appearance and pledges for Santa Claus.He called us and will be joining us all the way from the North Pole. I think he will be adding everyone at the Shave-a-thon to the "Nice" list this year."
In addition to the Shave-a-thon, local teachers and Black Bear Smokehouse are helping put together a Family Fun Day. They are planning a bouncy house for the kids, a dunk tank, coloring table, food eating contests, cornhole competitions and much more. Raffles and silent auctions are also in the works to add to the fund raising. Black Bear Smokehouse has also pledged a percentage of their food sales from the event weekend to support all the efforts.
Gamble is pleased with this joint effort. "We are always pleased when we can team up with our community and community businesses for a great cause and can offer a fun day for families of all ages to come out and enjoy." In addition to shaving heads, the firefighters will be selling orange Fight for A Cure firefighter t-shirts and paracord bracelets. The Lake County Firefighter's Charity PINK Firetruck is also scheduled to be at the event, as well as other fire trucks and police cars. The Shave-a-thon and Family Fun day begins at 11AM on Saturday March 22nd and runs all day long.
For more details, check out the firefighters charity website at www.lakefirefightercharity.org
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