March of Dimes Goes Bald for Babies

By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City woman won't have to worry about styling her hair anytime soon, because she's going bald for babies.

She shaved her head in a fund raising effort for the March of Dimes.

Every year Farmer's Insurance reps in Oklahoma City have a fund-raising rally. This year the incentive for people to give was great, because now the top fundraising female employee is bald.

Cathy Guevera is a cut above the rest in the mission to raise money for premature babies. Ten employees at Farmers Insurance competed in the March of Dimes drive. Guevera, of course, won.

"It's a family affair for us, fundraising is," said Guevera. "They take the March of Dimes buckets around the neighborhood and ask for donations."

The March of Dimes is dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. One in eight babies is born early. That's 543,000 each year in the U.S.

"It's a huge, huge number," said State Director for March of Dimes Laurie Applecamp. "It's not going down in number and we want to find that cure."

The money raised by the employees will go toward research.

"We want everyone to have a healthy baby and finding our why those things are happening is important," Applecamp said.

Guevera has truly gone bald for babies. She says her hair always has been important to her, but healthy babies are even more important.

"My hair is going to grow," said Guevera. "Somebody's baby may not. That's how I have to look at it. No skin off my teeth, maybe some hair off my head, but, yeah, it's the right thing to do."

The Farmers Insurance Team isn't done fundraising either. They're at about $75,000. Their goal is $100,000 by May 8.

The March for Babies event is on May 8. You can participate by walking the three mile course at the fairgrounds. Learn more about the March for Babies.