Walt Whitman HS Raises $22K To Fight Childhood Cancer

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Nearly $23,000 was raised to fight childhood cancers by the South Huntington School District.

The 17th annual St. Baldrick’s fundraising event was held by Walt Whitman High School's Robotics Club. Students, teachers and some parents donned the green barber cape and shaved their heads to raise money to fight cancer.

The event initially was for high school members only. Since then, the event expanded to district-wide involvement, encouraging the community to volunteer to free their follicles to fund research that will save children’s lives.

The top money raiser was Mary Hosey with $3,330. This year’s event raised a total of $22,800, bringing the robotics club’s multi-year total to more than $400,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

The head-shaving tradition began as a friendly dare in a bar on St. Patrick’s Day in 1999 among friends — 'Would you shave your head to raise money for pediatric cancer research?' — has turned into an annual spectacle that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, according to the school district.

The Foundation provides research grants, scholar awards, and lots of institutional support for local facilities to treat more young patients. Its reach is now international as it searches the globe for clues to a cure for cancer.