Saving lives, one bald head at a time

For its twelfth consecutive year, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will be hosting its shaving event on March 21, from 1 to 5 p.m. at St. Agnes Parish Center after the St. Patrick’s Parade.

The foundation hopes to beat last year’s fundraising of nearly $200,000 and reach a new goal of $250,000.

“We are always hopeful, and every dollar we raise is a dollar the foundation didn’t have before,” said John Bender, a Rockville Centre resident and founder of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

The foundation hopes to get as many people involved this year to raise as much money as possible.

“We get more and more people participating and donating [every year],” said John LaCava, a Rockville Centre resident and one of the event directors.

The goal of the St. Baldrick’s shave is to help raise money to fund cures for childhood cancer, explained LaCava.

By shaving heads, the foundation hopes to get people talking about children’s cancer and raise awareness for research. “We want people to be asking questions and understanding what we’re doing,” LaCava said.

Not to mention, it is a “fun way to save children’s lives,” said Bender.

The day is filled with family fun, including music, games for kids, giveaways and food donated and provided by a variety of local restaurants. Raffles are another way the organization raises money. All of the raffles are donations from local businesses and stores.

“We wouldn’t be successful without them,” said Bender.

The parish center can hold about 600 people at one time and the St. Baldrick’s organizers hope to hit that max throughout the day. The event has become a tradition for many families that participate.

“It’s a generational thing,” said LaCava. “Fathers, sons, grandfathers all participate. Even mothers and daughters shave their heads too.”

Many women go all bald, while others go for a more conservative look and cut their hair to a short bob. St. Baldrick’s then donates the cut hair to Locks of Love.

Local barbershops and salons donate their time and volunteer as shavers. Six or seven shavers are shaving simultaneously. Volunteers from Pioneer Haircutting and the Underground Salon have been participating as shavers for all 12 years the event has been going on in Rockville Centre.