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Mostly Cloudy Pirates chop their locks with pride
Organizers of the Chop Your Locks for Charity fundraiser at Mepham High School said the community showed what the Pirates were all about last week when they collected more than $71,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation with one of their own in mind.
On March 19, hundreds of Bellmorites had their heads shaved in solidarity with childhood cancer patients after raising funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, as they have in past years. Others donated eight or more inches of their hair to the Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Campaign, which creates real-hair wigs for cancer patients.
Christopher Patten and Kerry Dennis, two Mepham social studies teachers, coordinate senior service-learning projects at the school. They once again helped seniors run the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser, noting that they were all motivated by a member of the Mepham community: Giuliana Geller.
Giuliana, the daughter of Mepham social studies teacher Jackie Geller, was the honored child at this year’s event. She recently finished chemotherapy for undifferentiated small round cell sarcoma and is doing well (Click here for more).
Seniors presented Giuliana with gifts, and several students said they decided to take part because of her and her mother. Mepham sophomore Renee Althouse said she donated her hair in honor of Giuliana and Jackie Geller, who was one of her kickline coaches.
Although several inches of her long red hair were gone, Althouse said she was happy to support the campaign. “It’s bittersweet; I love my hair, but I know I cut it for a good cause,” she said.
Members of other athletic teams banded together to raise funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. One was the Bulldogs, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District hockey team that is co-coached by Patten.
Calhoun High School junior Christian Foster said he shaved his head at Mepham for several years to support Patten’s efforts. He was seated next to his coach on the stage, and gave him a high-five while both had their hair buzzed away.
