Community Contributors: O’Loughlin’s Aims For $100,000 In 10th Year Of Fundraising For St. Baldrick’s Foundation

About 2,000 people stopped by O’Loughlin’s Restaurant & Pub throughout the afternoon of Sunday, March 4, for the 10th annual Brave The Shave event to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to fight childhood cancer. Among those 2,000 guests, about 100 dedicated donors underwent the barber clippers to shave their heads in an act of solidarity with and to support children battling illness.

Owner Tom Crawford has seen his restaurant’s fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s grow throughout the years since it was first established. “It has become a part of the community calendar and an event that people look forward to every year,” he said, indicating that people from all over the Broadneck peninsula, as well as Severna Park and Annapolis, come to participate.

With a tent set up behind the restaurant, live music provided by Dublin 5 and Weird Science, and shavings happening throughout the afternoon, Brave The Shave always offers plenty of fun and excitement, but the cause is anything but a laughing matter. Fighting childhood cancer is a mission near and dear to Crawford and his team at O’Loughlin’s, particularly in recent years as they have honored local hometown hero Joey Sudo, who lost his battle with cancer in 2012 at age 12.

Throughout its first nine years, O’Loughlin’s Brave The Shave raised a collective $636,000, and in 2018, the event brought in approximately $98,500. Crawford expects to surpass the $100,000 by selling raffle tickets — 100 chances at $20 each — for an autographed Alexander Ovechkin jersey.

In addition to holding St. Baldrick’s every year, O’Loughlin’s Restaurant supports a variety of community endeavors by local schools, churches, performing arts groups and youth sports leagues. Charity for Crawford is a part of being a good community member and business owner. “It brings people together and makes people aware it’s important to give to these causes and help anyone we can,” he said.