One of the original founders of St. Baldrick's Foundation, a fundraising event where people receive sponsorship to shave their heads for charity, is currently living in Bermuda.

And this year, in an attempt to gain more funds and exposure for his cause, Enda McDonnel has dyed his hair green and will keep it that way for most of the month of February before shaving it off.

"In 2000, a few friends and I started St. Baldrick's, a charity where over 107,000 people to date have shaved their heads in solidarity with children who lose their hair undergoing treatment for cancer," said Mr. McDonnel.

"The purpose of St. Baldrick's is to raise money and awareness to conquer childhood cancer. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death among kids in the first world."

And Mr. McDonnel highlighted the impressive amount of support that St. Baldwick's has gained over the years.

"Since we started, the overall survival rate for childhood cancer has increased to approximately 80 percent," he said

"The nearly $70m in funds raised so far by the over 100,000 shavees and many more generous donors has been spent to fund research for a cure. So far, 35 research fellows and 21 research scholars have been funded by St. Baldrick's as well as numerous other clinical trials and research studies worldwide."

Mr. McDonnel, was himself put on a regiment of chemotherapy when it was discovered that he had a serious illness.

"About four months ago, I was diagnosed with a form of Sjogrens Syndrome, a rhuematological condition with neurological effects in my case," he said.

"Essentially, my auto-immune system has attacked my nervous system. The treatment plan combines blood transfusions with chemotherapy. The chemo is to suppress my immune system while the blood transfusions are designed to kick start it. Thankfully, my care has been under the direction of the excellent doctors at Johns Hopkins."

• To learn more about St. Baldrick's day go to http://www.stbaldricks.org/