“A Bald Move”: Fund-Raising for a Child Cancer Victim
Last September 23, in time for this year’s observance National Child Cancer Awareness Month, employees of The Abaca Group, both men and women, trooped to Exposé Hair Salon in Crossroads Mall – to have their heads shaven for a cause.
The harsh reality of child cancer has hit The Abaca Group close to home when one of its own, a young boy Raguel, was diagnosed with Stage 3 neuroblastoma. Raguel is the only child of Chef Jessa IntongBacatan, who is the very first staff to work in Abaca and has cooked for more than a decade in one of the kitchens throughout group.
Neuroblastoma is a rare disease that is among the Top 5 cancers to hit children. While other kids of Raguel’s age are in school enjoying, the boy instead goes to the hospital to endure painful medical treatments. A day before he turned six, Raguel underwent a major surgery to remove a lemon-sized tumor from his kidney, which marked the start of a lengthy, exhausting treatment procedure. The survival rate for neuroblastoma is very low without repetitive medical intervention and expensive maintenance.
Taking into consideration the cost of necessary medical procedures such as chemotherapy sessions and others in between, The Abaca Group launched a fund-raising initiative called “A Bald Move” that brought together over 130 of its employees to voluntarily lose their hair to raise awareness about childhood cancer.
“We value each of our employees and just like any family, we try to help and provide assistance to one another as much as we can. Chef Jessa has been with The Abaca family from the very beginning and has been one of our guiding and moving forces through the years. With ‘A Bald Move’, we extend our help to her and show her and Raguel our full support in this difficult time. We further hope raising awareness by shaving our heads may benefit other kids like Raguel battling cancer,” The Abaca Group founder Jason Hyatt said.
Touched by Raguel’s story, Exposé Hair Salon dedicated their salon for a day to accommodate The Abaca Group employees who waited in long lines to be served by the salon’s team of hair experts. Exposé also donated P25,000 to Chef Jessa for Raguel’s fight.
“In our daily work in the salon, we frequently come across clients who have bravely battled this disease or are preparing to fight. In view of their personal struggle, not just as customers but also friends, this seems like a great match for Exposé Salon to show support. We wish Chef Jessa and her son well and pray for his recovery,” said Stephan and Margie Zenz in behalf of the entire Team Exposé. The couple owns Exposé Hair Salon.
Those who would like to help Raguel may visit the boy’s GoFundMe Page at https://gogetfunding.com/goraguel or send a donation through Jessa Marie Intong’s Metrobank account number 0363036516411.