Gentle readers, my courageous friend Mousme is participating in this year’s Shave to Save campaign. I try to support my friends in whatever fundraising efforts they undertake when I can. Shave to Save is the annual fundraiser hosted by the local radio station Mix96, held to raise money for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and awareness for National Breast Cancer Awareness month. If the participant raises $2000 or more, the studio travels to their workplace with a stylist who shaves the participant’s head. The audio of the event is recorded for broadcast on a subsequent show of the announcer who accompanies the stylist. Our equally courageous friend Robyn did this two years ago, live in the studio!

Mousme is aiming for the $2000, and has set up a PayPal donation account for that purpose. Please consider pledging any amount; every cent helps a cause like this.

I would like to point out that Mousme has lovely long silky hair. Apparently it can be donated to one of the several wig-making organizations if the hair hasn’t been chemically treated. That’s not the point, though: Mousme is sacrificing well over a foot of hair for this. Let’s make it worth her while by showering her with sponsorship.

ETA: Mousme has posted a most excellent and informative collection of stats and good reasons to pledge. Here’s the gist of it:

Dear friends, family, and colleagues,

Every year, thousands of people have their lives affected by breast cancer. It is one of the leading causes of death in women. Every one of us knows someone who has had breast cancer, or who has been directly affected by this disease that claims so many. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Canada, a time to raise awareness and work even harder to beat this disease.

According to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation:

– in 2008, an estimated 22,400 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer. On average, that is about 431 women diagnosed every week;
– in 2008, an estimated 170 men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Men with breast cancer make up a little less than 1% of all cases.
– in 2008, an estimated 5,300 women and 50 men will die from breast cancer in Canada;
– one in nine (11%) Canadian women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime (this means by age 90).
– only one in every 28 Canadian women will die from breast cancer. This means that about two-thirds of the women diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada will live through it.

This disease is curable, with the right tools. Early diagnosis is key to a good prognosis, and the only way for that to happen is for people to be aware and educated on the subject.

In spite of all the progress that has been made in treating breast cancer, there is still a lot of work to be done. With your help, we can make this disease a thing of the past.

This year, I will be participating in the Shave To Save Challenge that is run by a local Montreal radio station, Mix 96. I will be raising $2,000 for the Québec Breast Cancer Foundation, at which time I will have my head shaved as a gesture of solidarity for all the women who have no choice about what happens to their hair when they undergo treatments.

Please take the time either to donate to this cause, or to spread the word to your own colleagues, friends and family. The more people donate, the easier it will be for me to reach my goal of $2,000 by October 31st, 2008.

For more information on Breast Cancer, please visit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation website.

Thank you for your support.

A meter indicating the current level of Mousme’s pledges plus a donation button for your own pledge can be found here.

(If you have no clue who I’m talking about, this might help: Mousme is Random Colour’s drummer!)