Sooners to Shave for the Brave; Fight Cancer

Event Details
What:	Shave for the Brave
When:	April 7 - 4:30 pm
Where:	L. Dale Mitchell Park

Shave for the Brave
Donate	HERE
Vs. Cancer Foundation	Info
Team Goal	$30,000
Raised So Far	$12,732
Team Ranking	2 of 73
Two-Year Total	$58,681

NORMAN, Okla. – The annual “Shave for the Brave” event returns to L. Dale Mitchell Park next week as University of Oklahoma baseball players will shave their heads in a fundraising effort to fight childhood cancer. The Sooners will go bald beginning at 4:30 pm on Thursday, April 7 after practice on the right field concourse.

This year marks the third season OU baseball players have committed to shaving their heads in support of kids with cancer. Proceeds from the team's fundraising efforts are split between the Vs. Cancer Foundation and the OU Children's Medical Center. The Sooners have raised over $58,000 in each of the last two seasons and raised the most money out of 63 teams that participated in 2015.

Oklahoma has upped its goal to $30,000 this season. As of Thursday afternoon, the team has raised over $12,000. To donate, please visit the baseball team's page at SoonerSports.com.

“Shave for the Brave is exciting,” exclaimed junior Sheldon Neuse. “Anything that we can do to help raise awareness for kids that are in an unfortunate situation, it's awesome to be a part of. I didn't know what I was going to do or how it was going to affect me and it affected me in a greater way than I thought it could. It's awesome to go out there and raise awareness and money for these kids.”

The Vs. Cancer Foundation was founded by Chase Jones, a former University of North Carolina baseball player, who was diagnosed with Stage IV brain cancer as a college freshman at the age of 18. Since beating cancer, Jones has worked with multiple childhood cancer organizations before establishing the Vs. Cancer Foundation in 2012.

In 2015, Jones was in attendance as the Sooners shaved their heads after surpassing their goal of $20,000 for the second year in a row. He took the time to not only meet with the team, but also visit OU Children's Hospital to see the impact OU baseball had made through its donation the year before.

“It speaks a lot about our kids, understanding the big picture and caring more about just themselves,” state head coach Pete Hughes, who brought his 19 Ways community service initiative to Norman in 2013. “They're getting out there and making a difference. We had almost $30,000 last year. It's pretty awesome. It's going a long way too.”

Shave for the Brave has become one of the marquee events on the calendar for the Oklahoma baseball team as the team works toward its 19 Ways community service campaign.