I should have just stayed off Twitter that day.

https://twitter.com/discountgarage/status/1000185043212529664

I’m kidding. That was awesome.

And so, it shall be done, but only if you all get involved and help out!

This is all part of an annual event put on by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers called “Cut for a Cure” in partnership with The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research to eliminate childhood cancer. Their focus is to fund research to find less toxic, more targeted therapies by partnering with leading hospitals nationwide. Cancer is the number one cause of death by disease among children. 43 children per day or 15,780 children per year are expected to be diagnosed with cancer. It is a disease that affects the lives of not just the children who are diagnosed, but everyone else around them, too.

For about two years now, having long hair has been a part of my identity. It’s what separated me from the rest of the people in the Bucs media room when I first got the job at Pewter Report a year and a half ago. It’s helped me differentiate myself as I’ve set up my own style of brand in this business, as not many of those in the media rock this kind of hair style. It’s been fun to have long hair for the first time in my life, but now, with your help, I’ll be going back to the short-hair lifestyle — at least for a little bit.

So why cut your hair? Why not just donate money and keep your hair?

For me, it’s more than just an outward sign of showing these kids (some of which will be the ones cutting my hair) that we are fighting this battle with them. That part is true, and it’s wonderful to see everyone doing that. But, from me personally, I hope it shows an added message. The reason we cut our hair with some of these kids is because we don’t want them to feel alone in their fight, and that’s because when some of them have to go through the treatments of pediatric cancer, they lose their hair as a result. That makes them look different, and when you’re a kid trying to make friends and figure this world out, often the last thing you want to do is stick out. But I hope that as we cut our hair, we not only join them in their fight, but also show them that being different isn’t so bad. In fact, being different is what makes you you.

We all have things that make us different. Some are by choice and some are not. But no matter what it is, it all goes into our story. It goes into who we are and who we become. Being different is what makes you unique and being genuine enough in yourself to be unique shouldn’t scare us, but rather, make us smile. For these kids, going through their battle does make them different, but not just in ways they wish weren’t there. They’re different in their strength, in their bravery and in their smiles. For that, these kids are people that I look up to and that I admire. People I’ll gladly stand next to and sit next to as they cut my hair so I can look just like them. When you’re young, you always want to look like your heroes. These kids are my heroes.

So far we’re up to $2,000 from Jason Licht, Beau Allen, my boss Scott Reynolds and one of our awesome sponsors of this website, Discount Garage Door. The goal is to reach $3,000, and if that happens, the man bun (and most of the rest of my hair) is coming off.

LINK TO DONATE (click)

I truly hope we can get to our goal of $3,000, and even blow that number out of the water, by Monday because my desire to be involved with such a cause is far greater than my desire to keep a temporary hairstyle. When you donate to this event, you’re not just donating for a good cause or to ultimately see what I look like with a shaved head, you’re advancing a better future and you’re giving these kids a reason to smile.