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BLACKSBURG - For the fifth straight fall, the Virginia Tech baseball program will host its signature event “Shave for the Brave” with this year’s being held on Friday, Oct. 24 at English Field. In the past, each event has seen more than 60 players, coaches, Tech administrators and friends and family of the Hokies shave their heads in an effort to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research.

The event raises money for cancer research in association with Melina Brown, St. Baldrick’s Foundation and “46 Mommas Shave for the Brave”. Brown's son Levi - an adopted member of the Tech baseball team - was diagnosed with medulloblastoma when he was four. Now 14, he is cancer free, but everyday 46 mothers in the United States are told their child has cancer, so the fight never ends.

“I am really excited about this year’s “Shave for the Brave,” Tech head baseball coach Patrick Mason said. “The event is such a great opportunity to raise money and awareness for such a terrible disease, and to know that Levi will be back for the fifth year in a row just makes it that much better. It shows that the money being raised and the awareness being brought to childhood cancer is making a difference. I would urge anyone in our community to please get involved and come to English Field on the 24th. I promise it will be worth it.”

During the previous four years, the combined level of donation to Brown and St. Baldrick’s from the Tech baseball program has reached almost $70,000, which means the five-year total could climb into six figures after this year’s event. The past two seasons the team had set a goal of $25,000 and has exceeded that both times.

The 2014 goal is to raise at least $30,000 and the team will be turning to the web and social media to help with its fundraising efforts. The following site - http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/9105/2014 - gives all the details. Scroll down then click on “View All Participants” and sponsor your favorite Hokie.

“For all my years here the team has really bought in and taken pride in raising money,” redshirt-junior Logan Bible said. “But this year we are going to reach more people and raise more money than ever before. And when the time comes, we’re going to gladly kiss our pretty little locks of hair goodbye.”

This year’s event will be held in conjunction with baseball’s Fall World Series Game 2 which starts at 4:30 p.m., with the shaving portion of the event beginning around 6 p.m. Weather permitting, kids will be invited on to the field to run the bases and get autographs and/or pictures taken with players. Also, this year, Bull & Bones has donated free wings to anyone who shaves their head on Friday.

The event is part of the baseball team’s “19 Ways” campaign, which was started back in 2010 and challenges the members of the Tech baseball team to find 19 Ways to help make a difference within the community during the current academic year. The Hokies have already been involved with several initiatives, including Lemonade for Livy, Hokie Helpers and Malia Crushes Cancer.

Other events anticipated for the fifth year of 19 Ways include assisting in the efforts with Micah’s Backpack, Taste of Inspiration (partners with the Special Olympics), No Shave November and Special Olympics bowling and hosting a military appreciation breakfast, to name a few.

To see images of past events and to stay current with this year’s 19 Ways events, go to the campaign’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/19Ways. To suggest events or to make donations directly to 19 Ways, contact Austin Hartsook, Tech’s Director of Baseball Operations, by phone: (540) 231-9976 or email: hartsook@vt.edu. Also check the site, or the official Tech baseball twitter page - @VT_Baseball - to keep up-to-date on the 2014 Shave event.

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