Close shave for Roxbury students on St. Baldrick's Day
ROXBURY - More than three dozen elementary students encountered some close shaves Thursday at Kennedy School, where roughly $15,000 was raised to battle childhood cancer during the school's second-annual St. Baldrick's Day event.
Cheered on by their classmates and parents, the participants took turns taking the stage in the school gymnasium, where nine hair-cutters stood at the ready to shave their hair down to the skull.
The gesture was symbolic — to identify with children who lose their hair while undergoing cancer treatment — but with each student soliciting donations from sponsors, the result was a significant amount of funds generated for the cause.
"The thing that I've told you since the beginning of the year is that you guys may be little, but you can make a big difference," Kennedy Principal Eric Renfors told the students.
There's no St. Baldrick, of course, but charitable souls have been shaving their heads bald on St. Patrick's Day since the tradition began in 2000. Since then, a national St. Baldrick's Foundation was established to support hair-shaving fund-raisers for both adults and children around the world.
By 2012, the organization had supported fund-raisers bringing in a total of more than $100 million. Last year, tens of thousands of people raised more than $36 million, bringing the total funds raised to more than $176 million.
"You guys know what the word bald means, right?" Renfors explained to an assembly of kindergarten-to-fourth-grade Kennedy students who came to cheer for the participants. "That's a hard thing to do when you've had hair all your life, and all of a sudden you lose it all. So this event is a way to support people who are sick like that. And also, because we are raising money, the last two years we raised almost $30,000 to help fight cancer."
As the Kennedy students got their shaves, a big cheer greeted a delegation of students from Jefferson School who came to get shaved and support fellow student Hudson Stavrou, a kindergartner who is winning his battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
"This is amazing and so touching," his mother, Jennifer Hudson, said of the reception that the Kennedy kids gave to the Jefferson members of "Team Hudson." "He's in remission now. He'll be getting some new scans in April."
"We have about 40 kids shaving their heads this year, including the principal," said Kennedy aide, substitute teacher and breast-cancer survivor Heidi Bagonis, who helped to stage the event. "I'm so proud of these kids."
Mandy Montrose was in the audience with her 1-year-old twins, Alison and Jason, to support her son A.J., 6, who was waiting to get his head shaved.
"My husband has shaved his head through a couple of St. Baldrick's events for the fire department, which we are members of here in Roxbury Company No. 1. When A.J. learned he could do it at school, he wanted to participate himself."
Like many of the participants, A.J. solicited donations through family contacts and social media, raising $655. With a $200 match coming from her husband's employer, Mandy Montrose said A.J. was adding $855 to the cause.
Another Roxbury mom, Colene Cooper, was there to support her two boys, Kennedy second-grader Dylan, and Kennedy alumnus Jayden, now a fifth-grader at Lincoln-Roosevelt School.
"They both did it last year, and wanted to do it again," she said.
"I like doing it because it it's fun to help people, and you can do it with your friends, and you raise money for cancer," Jayden, "It's fun to get your hair shaved and everyone thinks it's crazy."
The participants received commemorative T-shirts, buttons and wristbands for their efforts.
Volunteer head-shavers included several members of the staff from Atelier Salons in Basing Ridge and Denville, who also participated in last year's event at Kennedy.
Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.