Shavees on Saturday night. Photo by Elizabeth Kilbride
Elizabeth Kilbride and Kelly Saiz
News Editors
On Saturday, Mar. 12, the New Canaan Fire Company No. 1 hosted the town’s second annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser at the fire station. The charity is run by volunteers aimed at raising money for and awareness of childhood cancers. In recent years, students have shaved their heads during March as a nod St. Baldrick’s.
In 2007, NCHS hosted a St. Baldrick’s event that firefighter Paul Wilson said inspired him to begin the tradition at the fire station, once NCHS discontinued the event. “I wanted to do something and found that they weren’t doing it again [the next year],” he said. “I think as parents, you know, we all wanted to make sure we could do something for kids in need.”
Senior Jack Bennett said he was excited about getting his head shaved, and had been inspired by witnessing firsthand a struggle against cancer. “Well what got me into it sort of is that my godmother has cancer,” he said. “Knowing that makes me want to find a cure – and if that means getting my hair cut then I’m totally fine with that.”
19 year old Chris Isaacs also got involved out of respect for a relationship. “It’s a great cause,” he said. “It was sort of a last minute thing for me to do but I had a friend who just passed away from cancer – his name was Ryan Brennan, I used to skate with him. He only just turned 18.”
Though representation from NCHS was minimal, the event garnered substantial attendance. “I think we’ve picked up momentum,” career firefighter Duffy Sasser said. “Word has gotten out throughout town so we’ve had a lot of people show up today. People are coming in off the streets wanting to see what’s going on.”
Toward the beginning of the evening, it was announced that $1,800 had already been raised. The night’s grand total was around $20,000. “Last year we sent our goal pretty low and we wound up raising $21,000,” Mr. Wilson said. “So when we sat down and had our meeting this year we wanted to come up with a more realistic number and we’re hoping for $20,000.”
Mr. Sasser said the annual event has been fueled by community support. “We would like to do this yearly as long as there is enough interest,” he said. “It’s great to see people participate and donate. This is an extremely generous community.”
All proceeds go directly to St. Baldrick’s. This was made possible by contributions from several local organizations. Joe’s Pizza provided pizza, while Baskin Robbins provided two tubs of ice cream. The actual shaving was done by the women of Li Ann Salon. “Li Ann Salon volunteered their time,” Mr. Wilson said. “They got all their equipment just for this night; obviously a salon in New Canaan isn’t going to have shaving materials.”
Art teacher Lisa Floryshack-Windman had her head shaved for the second time, her first time being in 2009. ““It’s only hair. In my case it will grow back,” she said. Mrs. Floryshack-Windman added that people seemed confused by her first buzz cut. “People weren’t sure [about it]. A lot of times they were afraid to ask,” she said.
As a national foundation, St. Baldrick’s has been picking up tremendous support over recent years. With the month of March not even at its end, they have hosted 836 events in 2011, in comparison to the 804 in 2010. In 2011 there have already been over 30,000 shavees. Donations are accepted year round at www.stbaldricks.org.
Photos by Elizabeth Kilbride
