There are many people who live to give back to others. But in Folsom, one woman is once again giving up something very personal in order to make a difference—and it’s not the first time she’s done it. Wendy Sipple isn’t just cutting her hair—she’s shaving her head clean, all in the name of helping children with cancer.

Sipple has always been known as someone who gives back, and in doing so she is as humble as can be. Whether it was through the pages of Style Magazine, the community publication she co-founded with her husband Terry Carroll in 2003, or her personal acts of compassion, Sipple’s impact in Folsom has spanned decades. Now, as she celebrates her 55th birthday, she’s about to do something bold—again.

“Here we go again…one last time, I’m shaving my head to celebrate my 55th birthday in June, to benefit St. Baldrick’s Foundation,” Sipple said as she shared her story on her official fundraising page.

Next month, Sipple will follow through on that promise—at Ruffians, a barbershop in London’s Covent Garden, with her granddaughter Jane, who is in cosmetology school, by her side to help, according to her husband Terry, who shared the details with Folsom Times and isn’t shy about how proud he is of her. It’s the fifth time Sipple will have gone bald to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to childhood cancer research.

So far, just under $1,600 has already been raised for her 2025 campaign by generous members of the local community who are already pledging to join her cause—an early show of support that’s growing steadily as the date approaches.

Sipple’s journey began in 2005, when she received a press release from Robyn Raphael-Reynolds with the Keaton Raphael Memorial (now Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance), titled “Be Brave & Go Bald” for Local Kids Fighting Cancer. That email left a lasting impact.

“I was really moved when I read it: about how her 5-year-old son Keaton had been diagnosed with Neuroblastoma (cancer of the nervous system) in 1997 and bravely fought for 9 months before succumbing to the disease,” she recalled.

“I asked my husband Terry, ‘How would you feel if I shaved my head to support St. Baldrick’s?’ He immediately started pulling up photos of bald celebrities and said, ‘You’ll be so much hotter than any of these women!’ So the journey began.”

Over those two decades, she’s raised a total of $20,880 for St. Baldrick’s Foundation: $5,360 in 2005, $5,955 in 2010, $4,390 in 2015, and $5,175 in 2020 (which took place in 2022 due to the pandemic).

“Little did I know that I’d do this every five years from then on: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 (which turned into 2022 because of Covid) and now for the fifth and final time, in 2025. I’d love for 2025 to blow all of the other years out of the water!”

But this final campaign is about more than numbers for Sipple—it’s personal. In 2022, when they lost Debra Linn, Style’s Associate Publisher and dear friend, after complications from melanoma, a loss that made her reassess the meaning of legacy.

“In 2022, my friend Debra passed away due to complications from melanoma. It was a devastating loss — she was too young, and I miss her every day. Her death made me think about her legacy: her three kids and her two beautiful grandsons. It also made me think about my own mortality and what my legacy would be.”

“While I don’t have children from my own body, I have amazing bonus kids, bonus kids-in-law and bonus grandkids, along with nieces and nephews, all whom I adore. But the thought occurred to me: No one would live because I lived. Sounds a little macabre and perhaps a little of a Debbie Downer, but it made me think that I didn’t have a legacy.”

The idea of legacy returned again in early 2025 when Sipple debated whether she could take on another head shave. She questioned if she had the energy—both emotional and physical—to do it again. That’s when she found her “sign.”

“But, in late February, we were watching ‘Full Swing’ on Netflix — in the final episode of the third season, the story touched on Mia Villegas, the daughter of professional golfer Camilo Villegas and his wife Maria Ochoa. When Mia was just 17 months old, she was diagnosed with brain and spine cancer, and lost her cancer battle 5 months later. Camilo and Maria created Mias’s Miracles (mias-miracles.org) to celebrate her life and to honor her legacy. I had been looking for a ‘sign’ to do the head shave one more time, and this was the sign. I needed to do this for kids like Mia.”

“Maybe your legacy is the family you build or help to build. But maybe your legacy can also be the people that you touch and help in life. I’ve always said, I will not cure cancer, but maybe by doing this, I can help find and fund the one who will. And hopefully, someone will live because of the money I raised to help the effort to find a cure for children’s cancer. Maybe that’s what my legacy is supposed to be.”

“I can think of no better way to celebrate my 55th birthday than to shave my head one last time!”

This time, it won’t be just Wendy and the barber—her granddaughter Jane will be there with clippers in hand, bringing a generational thread to the moment as they mark this meaningful milestone together overseas.

If you’d like to support Wendy’s final head shave and her goal to make 2025 her biggest year yet, you can visit her official fundraising page at www.stbaldricks.org/participants/wendysipple2025.

“If you’re able to donate, fantastic — I’d love this final head shave to be the biggest fundraiser by me yet But, if you’re not able to donate, that’s absolutely ok — I’d love your cheerleading from the sidelines,” she shared on her official page.

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