New Trier’s east campus will be hosting St. Baldricks’ “Brave the Shave for Kids with Cancer” on March 10.

St. Baldricks is a foundation that raises money and awareness for childhood cancer. The organization started in 1999 when a businessman raised money by shaving his head.
In sticking with its roots, St. Baldricks’ main fundraising event comes in the form of a head shaving.

Volunteers, or “shavees,” get up on stage and shave their heads to raise money for the foundation and to act in solidarity with their peers fighting childhood cancer.

In 2015, the national foundation raised around $37 million, $25 million of which was spent on programs for kids. This was down from 2014’s $39 million.

St. Baldricks’ expenses are split between programs, fundraising and administration, according to the financial information on their website, www.stbaldricks.org.

According to Curesearch.org, over 40,000 children are in cancer treatment every year and 175,000 are diagnosed. Leukemia, lymphoma and neuroblastoma are just a few of the different types of cancer young people are diagnosed with.

Treatment costs could be up to $53,000 a year, slightly higher than the 2013 median household income in the United States.

New Trier has hosted St. Baldricks’ head shaving events in previous years in the main cafeteria of the Winnetka campus.

Students of various genders and backgrounds shave their heads in support of the event.
The event is usually staffed by volunteers from New Trier’s Cancer Awareness Club. Marc Tadelman, faculty sponsor of the club, got involved in the St. Baldricks event due to the lack of a faculty sponsor.

“It seems like a great charity that helps out a lot of kids,” Tadelman said. “I was all for it.”
Tadelman was approached by Ella Brown, Cancer Awareness Club leader, and asked if the club could partner with St. Baldricks.

Tadelman described how hard the volunteers work in preparation for the shave, but couldn’t predict what the event will raise. “I guess we don’t know what to expect yet,” Tadelman said.
Brown shared similar excitement for the upcoming event, but the club heads are currently looking for more volunteers to help out with fundraising and preparation.

They are asking anyone interested in shaving their head or in volunteering to contact them. St. Baldricks’ website also provides step by step instructions for signing up.

“New Trier has hosted St. Baldricks’ events for the past several years, and each year we strive to recruit more volunteers and shavees to help raise even more than the year before,” junior Nalani Wean, a volunteer for the event, said.

Wean said, “Last year we raised over $16,000 and we hope to raise more.” The volunteers spend the two months prior to the event raising money, mostly through fundraising and by talking to family members and friends.

Wean continued, “Shaving your head helps contribute to the experience, because you begin to understand what children with cancer go through, while also raising money to help treat them.”

The shave will be held March 10 in the cafeteria during periods 4, 5, 6.