Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by donating to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation

In 2006, OWL VFD Life Member Tony Carroll served as an Assistant Chief. Under his prevue was the department’s Recruitment and Retention efforts. Carroll was inspired when he saw other fire and rescue departments participating in fundraising for the St. Baldrick’s Childhood Cancer Research Foundation. He decided to tie in a charity effort during one of OWL’s retention events.

“The goal for the 2006 event was to raise $1,000, but we raised over $6,000,” Carroll’s wife, Heather, who is also a Life Member with OWL, explained. “As it gained momentum, we started spotlighting some local kids that had been impacted by cancer,” she added.

One of these kids was current OWL Member Zach Wessolleck. At 15 months old, Zach was diagnosed with Astrocytoma, a tumor located in his brain and on his brain stem. Most of the tumor was removed during surgery, but because part of it is intertwined with the brain stem, it cannot be safely removed with current medical practices. In 2008, he had another surgery to remove a cyst that was growing off of the tumor and completed radiation treatment.

Despite all that he has been through, Zach was able to play football in high school, become a volunteer firefighter (following in the footsteps of his parents, OWL Life Members Harry and Sue Wessolleck), earn a Bachelor’s Degree from James Madison University, and become a successful local real estate agent.

Although OWL is not hosting a fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s in 2024, we hope that you will consider donating directly to this amazing organization. St. Baldrick’s prioritizes its research to make the most significant impact possible in fighting childhood cancer. According to St. Baldrick’s, “Worldwide, 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer yearly. And in the U.S., more children die of childhood cancer than any other disease — more than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies, and diabetes combined.”