South raises thousands by taking some off the top

Marge Simpson has a lot of it, so does Grizzly Adams’ face and George “The Animal” Steel’s back. But 60 members of the Valley Stream South High School community now have zero hair on their heads as part of an effort to raise money for children’s cancer research.

South hosted a St. Baldrick’s event, a nationwide year-round event that asks volunteers to shave their heads to raise money and awareness for cancer treatment and research, on March 29. The school, holding the event for the third time in the past four years, raised more than $17,000 for the charity and posted a record turnout.

Physics teacher Jeff Hsi and math teacher Laura Santa Maria organized the event. “It’s nice because they realize that even though they’re just one person, they can make a large difference,” Hsi said of the students. “They have a sense of pride and that’s what school’s about. It’s about building character.”

Eighth grader William Langabeer has a close personal connection with cancer treatment. “My mom passed away two months ago and she used to take chemo,” Langabeer said. “She always had her head shaved and never wore a wig so I thought I would do it too.”

Valentino Sammarone, a junior at South and friend of Langabeer, showed his support for the cause too. “She was a great person,” Sammarone said of Langabeer’s mother. “She walked around bald for quite some time because she loved the way it looked and I wanted to do it in memory of her.”

Of the 60 “shavees,” not all of them were from Valley Stream. Karla Bohaty and Ryan Cleary made their way from Sayville to have their heads shaved after seeing the event posted online.

“I’ve always wanted to shave my head for a cause and everybody says I’m so brave for doing it, but it’s really the kids that are brave,” Bohaty said. “They have cancer, they’re battling it, they have to wear this hairstyle every day. It’s not a choice, it’s like a duty to respect them.”

Cleary added that his aunt recently underwent two treatments of chemotherapy, so he wanted to get involved with the cause.

Dozens of students, parents, teachers and administrators were in attendance, including members of South’s Cultural Society who performed on stage while others had their heads shaved. The step squad also performed for those in attendance. South’s Principal Maureen Henry was proud of her student body.

“It just shows that we really are a school community that is together,” Henry said, “that always steps up and supports each other in any way, and we share our time and our talent with each other to always help somebody else.”

Hsi said he dyed his hair — bright red — weeks before the event in order to spread awareness. His plan worked. Many of the shavees had green, blue, pink and just about any other color hair, leaving some bright locks on the ground afterward.

Eva Plakotaris from Salon Byzante, and Ben from Ben and Tony’s Barber Shop, had the honors of shaving the dozens of heads. Also, Lauren Sechiano and Amanda Leo volunteered their time to buzz some heads.

St. Baldrick’s started in 2000 and has raised more than $117 million for childhood cancer research. Since 2000, more than 189,660 volunteers — including more than 17,200 women — have shaved in solidarity for children with cancer at events in dozens of countries and every U.S. state, according to the organization’s website.