'Bald is Beautiful' for councillor Shad Qadri

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Laura Mueller

EMC News - There will be a few naked scalps around the Ottawa city council horseshoe by the end of the month after three councillors signed on to the Shave for a Cure, an annual fundraiser that supports research of childhood cancers.

The addition of councillors Keith Egli (Knoxdale-Merivale) and Tim Tierney (Beacon Hill-Cyrville) to the Shave for a Cure fundraiser is a small comfort to Stittsville Coun. Shad Qadri, who was the only city councillor to go bald for the cause last year.

It wasn't the first time Qadri shaved his head in the name of charity - the 2012 event will mark the sixth time he has gone bald in a fundraiser.

His first foray into the world of bald fundraising was for childhood cancer as a result of Tori Carswell, a young Stittsville girl who died of neuroblastoma in 2004 and in whose memory Tori's Helping Hand charity was established in 2005.

Qadri was approached by University of Ottawa medical students to participate in the Shave for a Cure last year, and he didn't hesitate.

The $850 he raised last year, beating his goal of $750 - the same goal he'll try to repeat this year.

Having a hairless dome is much different in the winter than it is in the summer, Qadri said.

"Not that I have a lot of hair to begin with," he joked.

He is participating in this Shave for a Cure 2012 event under the slogan "Bald is Beautifil."

To donate to one of the councillors' campaigns, go to the St. Baldrick's Foundation website, www.stbaldricks.org, click on "make a donation" and search for the councillor's name. The St. Baldrick's Foundation partners with organizations around the world to fund childhood cancer research. The shaving event will take place on Friday, Feb. 24 at the J. Benson Cartage Centre at Lansdowne Park before the puck drops for the Ottawa 67's-Barrie Colts game at 7:30 p.m. It is the ninth-annual Shave for the Cure.