Photographs by William Taufic.
There are two sides to every story. It’s March 2005. A guy walks into a bar. He had read in the newspaper that some men were shaving their heads to show solidarity against childhood cancer and earn pledges for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to help find a cure.
“I read the article and cried,” remembers Roger Haney of Fairfield. “Without telling my wife and kids, I went and had my head shaved.”
Other side of the story: Dana and Mike McCreesh of Southport were also there. Their son, Brent, almost three, was really sick. He had been diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer.
“We had been chained to the house for months,” says Dana. “We were out because my husband and twelve of his friends were shaving their heads for Brent. A man walks up to me and says, “Hi, I’m Roger Haney. I’m a Fairfield father. I read the article and felt compelled to come here and shave my head for your son.’”
Soon Roger was enlisted to help transport the TeamBrent bikers to the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), an annual two-day, 192-mile biking event from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to the tip of Cape Cod, to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Since then, TeamBrent has raised $3.49 million, with Roger steering—and cheering—from the sidelines. Happily, Brent is now a thriving first grader and a Yankees fan who loves playing baseball and soccer.
“Brent has made it,” says Dana. “We fundraise to fight and help the other kids.”
In dozens of Light a Fire nominations, Roger was lauded for contributing $10 to every TeamBrent rider (last time there were forty-seven), arranging transportation, getting team T-shirts, making banners and even doing impromptu bike repairs.
“Roger goes the extra mile. We’re proud and fortunate to have him as part of the PMC,” says Meredith Beaton Starr of the event’s executive team.
Brent’s mom is forever grateful. “Roger is the best person I know,” says Dana. “All we asked him to do was drive a carload of people. Thanks to Roger and TeamBrent, my kids think everyone in the world is a good person.”
Visit teambrent.com; pmc.org; stbaldricks.org; or dana-farber.org. »