Jack Skowronnek displays some of the products for sale that contribute proceeds to Jack’s Chattanoggins.Since age 10, Signal Mountain resident Jack Skowronnek has shaved his head each year in support of children with cancer and to raise money for the pediatric oncology unit at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. He started Jack’s Chattanoggins on Signal Mountain at the former Sweet Gipsy, where community members gathered to show support, shave their heads and raise funds.
The event quickly outgrew Sweet Gipsy and has moved to the Chattanooga Market, which will host this year’s event Sunday, June 1. This year is Jack’s sixth to shave his head, and his goal is to raise $64,000 and to sign up 300 shavees; double the number of people he convinced to shave their heads for the cause in 2013.
Jack will be at Pruett’s Signal Mountain Market to register shavees Saturday, May 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For a donation, attendees will be permitted to spin a wheel for a chance to win Jack’s Chattanoggins gear such as coffee mugs.
For those who are not up for a new haircut, Jack and his mom Dawn Skowronnek have come up with several new ways for people to contribute to the cause.
“We’re selling locally made products with our label on it,” Dawn Skowronnek said. “It’s a different way to fundraise, and it also brings awareness to the cause.”
Mayfly Roasting Company of Signal Mountain has created a special coffee blend especially for Jack’s Chattanoggins that Jack has been selling to raise money for the cause. The organic blend is grown in the Lempira region of Honduras and is sourced straight from the farmer, Dawn Skowronnek said. It will soon be available at Pruett’s, which will donate a portion of sales to the oncology unit at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger.
Jack’s Chattanoggins also partnered with Chattanooga’s Pure Sodaworks to create the cherry-flavored Jack’s Soda, which features a custom label with a gold ribbon symbolizing children’s cancer. The soda should be available at Pruett’s soon as well.
Atlanta-based Sweet Tea Factory has also come up with a blend for Jack and will be donating a percentage of proceeds to the cause, said his mother.