Mepham preps to ‘whip out cancer’

In 2013 and 2014, Mepham High School honored two young cancer patients at the annual Chop Your Locks for Charity fundraiser: Gabrielle Brancaccio and Giuliana Geller, respectively.

Brancaccio, 7, of Rockville Centre, suffered from eye cancer when she was a toddler; “Gigi” Geller, the 2-year-old daughter of Mepham High School teacher Jackie Geller, was treated for undifferentiated small round cell sarcoma.

Christopher Patten, a Mepham social studies teacher who helped organize the fundraisers both years, said the girls are now cancer-free and thriving.

“Gabrielle is amazing and has grown up so much, and Giuliana might as well be a niece at this point,” he said “They are both doing well, so we kind of thought this year’s event would be more of a celebration –– a different vibe than some of the other ones.”

Both children will be honored once again at Mepham’s upcoming Chop Your Locks for Charity fundraiser. The celebratory tone of this year’s event extends to the school’s fund-raising efforts, as Mepham students, teachers and staff are raising money for childhood cancer research by taking a special challenge –– smashing pies into one another’s faces.

On March 18, hundreds of local folks will go bald in solidarity with childhood cancer patients while raising funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Others will donate eight or more inches of their hair to the Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Campaign, which creates real-hair wigs for cancer patients. Chop Your Locks for Charity will begin at 6 p.m. at the school, at 2401 Camp Ave. in North Bellmore.

Three faculty members –– Maura Kempton, Marie Netto and Marybeth Vetro –– brought Chop Your Locks for Charity to Mepham in 2008. Christopher Patten and Kerry Dennis, who coordinate senior service-learning projects at the school, now work with Mepham’s oldest students to plan the event.

Patten said seniors are eager to keep the Chops Your Locks tradition going. Even more students were drawn to the fundraiser last year –– at which more than $75,000 was raised –– because it was personal for them.