Face Time with ... Joselynn Ahlmann

WATERMAN – For as long as she's known, 9-year-old Joselynn Ahlmann's family has camped at O’Connell’s Jellystone Park Camp Resort in Amboy.

But four years ago, the summer trips west took on a greater meaning.

That's when the family became active in the campground's Relay for Life team, called Jellystone Joggers Campers for a Cure, and during the last weekend in July, Joselynn and her mother, Cyndi, took their commitment to raising money for cancer to new heights.

They shaved their heads.

Not down to the skin – mom wouldn't allow that – but pretty close, as part of the campground's Shave a Lid for a Kid Program that it put on as part of a Christmas in July lineup of events that ran July 26 to 28.

In doing so, the 16-member team, which includes participants from throughout Illinois as well as camp staff, raised $2,951 for cancer research.

Daily Chronicle reporter Chris Burrows recently sat down with Joselynn, who raised $190 for the cause and somehow convinced her mother to shave her head.

Q: Why did you decide to shave your head for this cause?

A: For my grandpa – he had cancer, and other cancer people.

Q: How did you raise the $190?

A: We do different events at the campground, and this event that I did it for was the pancake breakfast. And I walked around holding a can and asking: "Would you guys like to donate to cancer people for Relay for Life?"

Q: How did you get your mom to shave her head?

A: I begged her and begged her and begged her – even when she was sleeping.

Q: What do your friends think of your new hairstyle?

A: They think that it's good. They say that I did a good job for doing it.

Q: What else have you been up to this summer besides camping?

A: I swim in my swimming pool and go to friends' houses.

Q: Do you ever think you'll shave your head like this again?

A: I don't know.

Q: What other sorts of events have you participated in with Relay for Life?

A: Country Weekend – there's a lot of stuff – pancake breakfast, the Christmas in July, fourth of July. There's a lot.