St. Valentine's Hair Massacure
A MacDonald Family creation

The St. Valentine's Day Hair Massacre originated in 2002, prompted by the third hair loss incurred by the MacDonalds' youngest daughter Kali (nearing completion of her 3-year chemotherapy program).

The act of shaving allowed participants (Proud Victims) to fully appreciate a cancer patient's hair loss, and their journey would be honored, at any age.  Fundraising was originally intended as secondary to the awareness created.  We believe both have been successful.

The first event was held on February 14, 2003 at Canada Post - where Gordon MacDonald, Kali's Dad and event founder, worked. It claimed 48 proud victims, raised $37,000 for Kids with Cancer Society, and was televised on City TV's 'Big Breakfast'.

Two years later and steadily growing - $198,000 was raised with 167 participants, and Make-A-Wish Northern Alberta was added as a recipient charity.

In preparation for the 2006 event (held at West Edmonton Mall) Tammy MacDonald, Kali's mom and event co-founder, left her work as a Naturopathic Practitioner to run the growing event on a full-time basis.

Pink hair was introduced, and has since become our signature trademark. With 840 Proud Victims and $274,000 raised, the "World's Largest Head Shave at the World's Largest Mall" earned Hair Massacure the Guinness record for the most heads shaved under one roof in a 24 hour period.

In 2007 Hair Massacure chose to change its funding model in order to support a research lab for pediatric cancers. Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation became the new co-recipient of funds, along with Make-A-Wish Northern Alberta.  The event outgrew its location at WEM, and moved to the HMV Stage area and Santa Maria Ship. By 2008 1,000 Proud Victims raised $816,000.

In 2009 Hair Massacure outgrew its location once again and moved to the Ice Palace in the center of WEM.  Schools had become such a huge part of the event that CISN Country sponsored an in-school concert for the top fundraising school. The event brought in $840,000 with 1,300 participants, and in 2010 we hit our goal of one million dollars with 1,500 participants.

Awareness of Hair Massacure was growing. Involvement by the Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Rush, musicians and local celebrities offered proof that what had started as a small experience had grown into something the larger community wanted to support.

The 2011 Hair Massacure raised $1,050,000 and had over 1,740 participants. Ronald McDonald House became a third funding recipient, receiving all proceeds from paper Kali Bears sold in all corporate McDonalds restaurants in Northern Alberta.

In 2012 Hair Massacure celebrated its 10^th Anniversary.  We had over 2000 participants join us in our cause to raise awareness and funds for children with life threatening illnesses.  We again surpassed our previous year's total and raised a whopping $1.3 million.  Hair Massacure is looking forward to the next 10 years with our ever expanding family!

The Name and Logo

The Hair Massacure is a trademarked event.  In 2007 the name transitioned from the "St. Valentine's Day Hair Massacre" to "Hair Massacure" for simplicity. The implementation of "cure" represented our switch to support the pediatric cancer research program at the Stollery. The current logo was created by Tammy MacDonald the following year.

The original logo design from 2005 (showcased on t-shirts and Kali Bear ear tags) represented a "Proud Victim" in chair.   With the help of fellow cancer mom -Dianne Scott (a cartoonist), this design came to fruition with the accidental finding of the face Tammy had imagined.  During a brainstorming session in a coffee shop between Tammy and Dianne (in creation of the 2 characters), much to their surprise, the face of our Proud Victim finally appeared in real life.  How ironic that it would belong to a childhood Leukemia survivor - Greg Blahoon.

Greg was diagnosed 35 years earlier when Leukemia had an improbable 5% survival rate.  He is now married with 5 boys.  Greg on occasion has been asked to share his story with fellow cancer families.

We continue to showcase this image for the significance of this story.

The Bigger Picture

This unique event has been known to boost morale in schools and work places, particularly in January and February. The effect on our youth is remarkable, offering opportunities for team building, leadership, heightened self confidence, personal fulfillment, and philanthropy.

Sponsorship, participation and volunteerism have grown consistently throughout the years.  Hair Massacure prioritizes relationships and connections with families, honouring that grass-roots feel.

We continually strive to incorporate fun and uniqueness into this event.

For the sad reason we run this event, it's important to make it fun for the kids (the big kids too!)

Support

We, the MacDonald family, attribute the successful development of Hair Massacure to the involvement and support of a loyal planning committee, Project Coordinators over the years (Nadine, Tyler, Nicki and Brandi), and members from each charity.

The MacDonald Family is very appreciative of the outstanding levels of support we have received.

Inspiration

A special mention to Kali: the inspiration behind the Massacure. Thank you my 4 wonderful girls (Meagan, Mandy, Kyrsti, Kali) who play instrumental roles in our family run event, my mom and support system - Colleen Chupka (Nana), and last but not least Gordon MacDonald who founded the St. Valentine's Day Hair Massacre.