The Tritonian
Six To Lose Hair in St. Baldrick's AssemblySaturday, March 13, 2010 By Joe Weiss
The St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event will be back at Notre Dame Academy on Thursday, March 18, for the second year in a row. The event, organized by the “Sting Cancer” club of NDA, will raise money for those affected by cancer, particularly childhood cancer. A parallel purpose is to raise awareness to students and their families about the impact of the disease on so many people. Six “shavees” selected by a vote of the student body will have their heads shaved next Thursday. Representing their classes are John Mares, senior; Adam Strebel, junior; Mary Buchanan, sophomore; and Andrew Burnett, freshman. Mr. Steve Havlichek, math teacher, will represent the faculty while Mrs. Mary Valetchka in the Development Office will have her head shaved on behalf of the staff. The winning group will be recipients of a Pig-Out Dessert Day the week following spring break. All six of the “shavees” will be collecting donations. In addition, Sting Cancer members have set up a Memory Wall in the Commons. With a dollar donation students will be given a special sticker to post on the wall in memory of a friend or family member with cancer. Six stylists from various salons have volunteered their time to be here for the headshavings. Mrs. Kay VanBoxel, moderator of NDA’s “Sting,” is excited about the upcoming event. “This event gives the students a community connection and clearly gets some attention and awareness raised for the program,” Mrs. VanBoxel said. Working with many cancer patients herself, Mrs. VanBoxel spoke with the founder of the original Preble High School “Sting” club, Nick Nesvacial, to start a group at NDA. She has seen it grow to more than 40 students. “Sting Cancer” is an open club, meaning students can join at any time, and the group is looking for a few more students to apply for the leadership roles. One very helpful student leader is Mikayla Dhein, who said she is very excited about the head shaving event but nervous because she has a lot to do before that day. “We do a lot during the year, but this is our biggest event so there is a lot of pressure,” Dhein said. “I might have to talk so it gets a little scary, but it is for a great cause.” Like many others in the group, Dhein has lost a relative to cancer. “The group helps out everyone hurt, no matter how young or old they are, but my favorite part is helping out the kids,” Dhein said. Mrs. VanBoxel said the group is expecting great things since this is the second year doing this at NDA. “It is our biggest fundraiser and we can’t wait to see how it all turns out,” Mrs. VanBoxel said. Last year over $3000 was raised. The “Sting” club also does walks, bake sales and anything else they can to make the effects of cancer just a little bit easier to deal with. |