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Email this articleBald can be a life-saving hairstyle
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Ben Snowden
College students who want to help the community but lack excess time and money will soon have a convenient solution. The annual St. Baldrick's Foundation, which raises money to help find a cure children's cancer, will once again set up the scissor shop on campus next month, providing the opportunity for students and faculty to raise funds by cutting their hair or shaving their heads.
On April 15, Western Illinois University's Tanner Hall will host the St. Baldrick's Block Party from noon to 6 p.m. Volunteers can donate their money or hair at this event and also enjoy free food, games, prizes and live entertainment, including a performance from Western's steel band.
Macomb residents and Western students and employees can get involved with St. Baldrick's in several ways, from getting shaved to cutting hair. Mike Ferro, assistant complex director of Tanner Hall, organized this year's event and said the effort could use more volunteers.
"Anybody interested in registering to become a shavee can go to www.stbaldricks.org and follow the steps on the Web site to register," Ferro said. "We are also currently looking for more professional barbers to help cut and style hair for anybody who does not wish to have his or her head fully shaved."
This year Ferro shaved his head early to promote the event, and according to him, volunteers will find contentment through their efforts.
"Students can expect a lot of positive experiences from participating in St. Baldrick's," he said. "Most of the volunteers feel a very strong satisfaction from the gesture of the donation and the show of support for such a great cause."
Like Ferro, Kyla Cox will shave her head completely bald for the event. The loss of a substantial amount of hair allows the senior art major to donate it to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization for children with hair loss stemming from medical conditions.
"After losing someone to cancer and experiencing the effects of it, I felt like I needed to help because I couldn't imagine how much worse it must feel to be a parent with a child going through it," Cox said. "I've never really done anything for a charity before so I figured I was long overdue to help out."
Through Facebook and MySpace networking, Cox has accumulated $305 for St. Baldrick's, and she said she will probably raise more money before the event.
For sophomore political science major and Sigma Chi member Patrick Burks, St. Baldrick's gives Greek organizations the chance to show their generosity. Burks, president of the Interfraternity Council, said he challenged fraternities on campus to get involved with this year's effort.
"I'm not sure how many have taken us up on it, but we'd love to see as many people as possible participate in this great event," Burks said. Even though Sigma Chi works with the Children's Miracle Network and raised over $2,500 for that organization last year, Burks said that non-Greeks can get involved with St. Baldrick's as well. Either way, students involved will be very obvious after the event.
"Most of my friends know I'll be bald in a few weeks because I've been hounding them to donate," Burks said. "I can't wait to see the look on the peoples' faces who don't know that I'm taking part in this event." According to stbaldricks.org, the fundraising goal for this year's effort is $15,000, and $1,093 has already been raised. For more information on this organization or Western's event, visit the St. Baldrick's Web site or contact Mike Ferro at 309/298-3656.
Media Credit: Martyn Davis
Students at last year's St. Baldrick's event raised nearly $9,000 for the charity.
Media Credit: Martyn Davis
Source: The Western CourierAll rights reserved.