By Dana Williams
Milburn students clapped and cheered at the event for 13 of their fellow students who decided to get their heads shaved to raise money for the St. Balderick's Foundation, a non-profit charity that raises money for childhood cancer research mainly through head-shaving events.
"We decided that we wanted to do a fund-raiser for a charity and we investigated a bunch of them and picked St. Balderick's," Milburn's Principal Mark Gray explained. "By the time our fund-raiser is over, we will have raised probably over $5,000, and 100 percent of the proceeds is going to help to find a cure for childhood cancer."
The young boys who volunteered for the charity event became a part of a worldwide effort to help save lives and improve the long-term quality of children living with cancer. According to the St. Balderick's Foundation's Web site, charity events similar to Milburn's have taken place in 10 countries and 42 states in the United States, resulting in more than 20,000 heads being shaved to help children.
"It feels great to get my head shaved because I'm doing it for a great purpose," said Anthony Viggiano, a 5th grade student at Milburn. The 10-year-old student was also one of the volunteers who had the most hair on his head. Viggiano's mother, Virginia, explained that he let his hair grow as long as possible after he decided that he wanted to volunteer for the event.
"For six weeks, Anthony didn't cut his hair and he started to even get sideburns, so it was getting kind of scary," she joked. "I am very proud of him and the kids had a lot of fun doing all of this, which is also great."
The highlight of the evening included the students sitting collectively at the front of gymnasium chanting "Mr. Gray," while hair stylist Annmarie Bedell shaved his head. Gray, along with a teacher at Milburn and two parents, also volunteered to get their heads shaved to help the foundation. The top three students who raised the most money also received the opportunity to cut a piece of their principal's hair before Bedell sheared it all off.
The school's stage was treated just like a hair salon and barbershop, with the stylists and barbers sweeping the floor in between haircuts. The barbers and hair stylists said they also volunteered to help raise awareness about an important cause.
"Most of these kids are my usual customers," said Boris Fayzakov, a barber at the Grand Palace barbershop on Grand Avenue in Baldwin. "The school called me and I'm happy to be here to help. It's great to see the kids raise money like this."
The young faces of Milburn, along with their parents, concluded the cancer awareness event by watching "Happy Feet" and eating popcorn, chips and other snacks from the school's Student Council Concession Stand. Gray said that the proceeds from the concession stand and the ticket sales from the event will be donated to the charity as well.
"For a community with only 150 kids, we have raised a lot of money and it's really an amazing thing to see that the kids understand what all of this is for," Gray added. "All the kids enjoyed the event and the community came out to support it, so it went great."
Photos by Richard Wendt
