Today's Pre-St. Paddy's Day event raises money for kids with cancer

AUSTINTOWN

Donating to and seeing children at St. Jude Children’s Hospital opened Chelsy Skalada’s eyes — and motivated her to give up all of her hair.

“I told myself that I’d do anything to help find a cure” for childhood cancers, the Austintown woman said after having all her hair shaved off during Saturday’s sixth

annual Pre-St. Patty’s Day Bash at O’Donold’s Irish Pub & Grille in the Austintown Plaza on Mahoning Avenue.

The all-day event also featured 30- to 45-minute sets from 17 local and

regional bands that played a variety of hip-hop, rock ’n’ roll, reggae and alternative music inside the eatery or in a heated outdoor tent in the parking lot.

Skalada was one of at least 30 people who

volunteered to shed their hair to raise money for the Pasadena, Calif.-based St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a 12-year-old volunteer-driven charity dedicated to funding research to find cures for childhood cancers and giving survivors long, healthy lives. A goal of Saturday’s gathering was to raise $30,000 for the organization.

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.