“Let the shaving begin,” said the student announcer at an event held at St. John’s University on March 16 as 36 people shaved their heads and 10 girls donated at least 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
The event joined together St. John’s students and various faculty and community members to shave or cut their hair to donate and raise awareness for the disease.
David Masur, St. John’s head men’s soccer coach, was one of the first to get his hair cut. Masur called the event “a way for us to unite and hopefully help cure cancer eventually.”
Participants were cheered on by the crowd as they were called up on stage by a student announcer and got their hair cut or shaved by professional hairdressers. They also received a T-shirt and a pin that said, “Ask me why I’m bald.”
Natalia Chiemi, 30, was the first female to shave her hair at the event. “It’s fun and cool to see the community come together,” said Chiemi, who works in Forest Hills. “In my own way I helped a little bit and I did something to show [my] support. It feels great.”
The event was organized by the St. John’s Campus Ministry. Donations helped raise $22,177 — more than last year’s event, which raised around $15,800.
Ten-year-old Eleni Flevaris was the youngest in the crowd to donate hair. “At first I was nervous but now [that it’s done] I’m not,” said Flevaris
I said I might as well, its just hair,” said Omar Nesheiwat, 22, a graduate student at St. John’s who also shaved his hair at the event. Nesheiwat is the graduate assistant of the Campus Ministry and his personal connection with the cause was an extra push for him to get involved. “My cousin passed away from cancer last September. This event came at a perfect time,” said Nesheiwat.
Attendees were give green bead necklaces, hats and glasses, the signature color of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
. Patricia Salgado, 20, is a junior at St. John’s and cut her hair at last year’s event. “It’s nice to do something simple that can make a change in somebody’s life,” said Salgado.
