During the month of March, Thirsty Lion Gastropub and Grill partnered with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to raise money for childhood cancer patients.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-powered national organization that is committed to funding research to find cures for childhood cancers. From March 1 to March 19, the eight Thirsty Lion locations in Arizona, Colorado and Oregon raised $40,458.99 for St. Baldrick’s.

“We love being able to bring people together and help raise money for a great cause like St. Baldrick’s. Unfortunately, only a small portion of national funding is committed to childhood cancer research. Raising money for St. Baldrick’s helps bridge that gap,” said Thirsty Lion CEO John Plew.

St. Baldrick’s is the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded $200 million in grant research. As a result of research supported by St. Baldrick’s, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug that drastically increases the cure rate for high risk neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is an adrenal glands cancer that mostly affects children. This is the only third approved drug in 20 years made specifically for kids with cancer.

This is the fifth year that Thirsty Lion has partnered with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Over the past five years Thirsty Lion has donated $227,656 to the charity. The gastropub raises money annually by hosting head shaving events at the restaurant as well as asking patrons to donate on their bill. The restaurant has made a commitment to the organization to donate a total of $250,000 by 2018.