Brave-A-Shave, an annual event where students shave or cut their hair to help childhood cancer patients and spread awareness, will be Friday December 7th. Donations benefit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for childhood cancer, and Student Senate organizes and puts on the event. Some people participate for personal reasons while others participate purely for the joy of it.

“Last year, my grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer so I wanted to shave my head because she had to shave her head at the end of her treatment so it was just kind of a personal thing,” sophomore Allyssa Esloo said.

Sophomore Josh Mccart did it last year because he didn’t know what else to do with his hair.

“Funny thing–last year it started out as a passing comment my English teacher made when she was handing out flyers for Brave-A-Shave so I decided, ‘Hey might as well do it!’ then I got my account set up and before I knew it I had 250 dollars just donated for me to get my hair shaved,” Mccart said.

Esloo knows firsthand the struggles that can come from the baldness a cancer patient faces.

“It was really awkward in the times where it was too short to do anything and too long to do something with and because of those awkward times I kind of didn’t have a self confidence,” Esloo said.

After shaving all her hair off last year, Esloo won’t be going that far again this year.

“Yeah, I don’t want to do it this year because of the new perspective I’ve completely gotten more in love with my hair and how much I appreciate it (my hair). My hair is kind of like my personality now,” Esloo said.

Those choosing to cut or shave their hair seek donations from sponsors. They  receive a link from a site for people to donate.

“You can get physical cash or you can get donations (from the link). You pretty much put the link to the site for donations everywhere; I just put mine in my math teachers room,” Mccart said.

The worst part for Mccart was trying to put on hats.

“The worst part was trying to get a beanie on because the hair is cut short and it’s still sharp from just getting shaved so trying to get the beanie around your scalp is just really hard to do,” Mccart said.

Usually 15-25 kids sign up to donate hair; so far this year, there are only about 12 kids signed up. Chris VanCamp, student senate adviser, encourages those who want to shave their head and those who are just thinking about trimming their long hair.

“Kids who want to shave their heads sign up online with Saint Baldricks, and we ask them to raise a minimum of 50 dollars,” VanCamp said. This minimum amount is usually not a problem for students to reach. “We have kids raise hundreds, thousands even. We already have a kid that raised up to almost 700,” she added.

VanCamp noted that BSHS set a goal of $5000.

Professional stylists come in to cut/shave the kids hair. The best part of Brave-A-Shave for VanCamp is the excitement.

“Probably the excitement that goes on with the kids getting their heads shaved and knowing the impact that they’re making, not necessarily always financially but bringing for awareness to the need for more funding for childhood cancer resource (is the best part),” VanCamp said.

Brave-A-Shave is for a good cause but is a huge a lot of time, resources and emotional investment.

“It’s a big commitment. You’re telling kids that not only do they need to raise money for childhood cancer research, they also have to shave their heads during a very cold part of the year which is the reason why we do it in December. This gives them an understanding of what it’s like to not have any hair like the children battling cancer. It’s a tough commitment–you have to be dedicated and find purpose for what you’re doing,” VanCamp said.