CAZENOVIA — On Sunday, April 24, the annual St. Baldrick’s head-shaving fundraiser returned to Burton Street Elementary School following a several-year hiatus.

The national St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. Since 2005, the foundation has invested over $314 million in childhood cancer research grants worldwide.

Fundraiser participants sign up online and pledge to raise money to support childhood cancer research in exchange for shaving their heads to show solidarity with cancer patients who have lost their own hair.

The first St. Baldrick’s Cazenovia event was organized in 2012 by Molly Woodworth Huttar, who was a Cazenovia High School (CHS) student at the time.

This year, CHS junior Christopher Kelly spearheaded the initiative with help from his parents, Sean and Erin, who organized the event from 2014 to 2017 and raised a total of about $175,000.

In January 2022, the Kellys set an initial fundraising goal of $20,000. Ultimately, the event raised over $23,000 for childhood cancer research.

On the day of the event, 17 participants were shaved by professional barbers and one individual donated her hair.

“The largest number of shavees we had was [113 in 2014],” said Erin. “By comparison, we had 53 shavees in 2017 and raised $29,516. So, to only have 18 participants this year and still raise over $23,000 is pretty fantastic.”

Cazenovia High School Principal Molly Hagan participated in the event for the first time this year, singlehandedly raising over $8,000.

“I participated this year to support the Kelly family, who has done an amazing job with this event for our community,” she said. “I hope my participation will inspire high school students to participate in charitable events [and] get involved in non-profit organizations, and also serve as a reminder to serve others. We can all make a difference if we put ourselves out there. In the past, we have had a lot of young people participate and I hope that by participating this year, we will have increased interest from students in the future.”

According to Erin, the shavees were cheered on by a crowd of supporters.

“We had forgotten how much fun the event can be and what a great feeling it brings to everyone in the room,” she said. “. . . We hope that, if we bring it back in years to come, we’ll have even more participants and support from Cazenovia and surrounding communities. We’re so thankful for the help of the staff from Cazenovia Central Schools who volunteered their time to work the registration desk, bake sale, emcee the event, and help behind the scenes. We’re also grateful for the guys from Saving Face Barbershop — Taylor Horsman and Zach Fonda — for taking time on their day off to shave for us.”

To learn more about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, visit stbaldricks.org.