‘Shave it Off”: St. Baldricks a chance to fight childhood cancer

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Gabbi Hagan, Tompkinsville senior, laughs because her head is ticklish while Debbie Vincent and her daughter Jessica Vincent inspect Debbie’s head-shaving work. Hagan, who is the Mental Health Committee Head of Omega Phi Alpha, has shaved her head three times for St. Baldrick’s. During the event, Vincent, the operational manager at Cost Cutters inside Walmart on Campbell Lane, shared a story with the audience about a young member of her family who passed away from childhood cancer. Omega Phi Alpha hosted St. Baldrick’s on Saturday April 11, 2015, at the Nick Denis Field after the WKU Baseball game. Volunteer stylists shaved the heads and cut the hair of student who raised money for childhood cancer research. The cut hair, if it was long enough, was also donated to organizations which make wigs for children.

Samantha Wright
April 14, 2015

Students clustered at Nick Denes Field on Saturday afternoon, following a WKU baseball game against the Southern Miss University Golden Eagles to shave their heads for a common cause.

The St. Baldrick’s fundraiser provided a way for students to raise money for a cure for childhood cancer, while showing support for those diagnosed with the disease. Many children lose their hair while fighting cancer due to chemotherapy, and the fundraising event allowed people to shave their hair in solidarity.

The event, in its sixth year on campus and organized by Omega Phi Alpha sorority, raised $4,500 with future donations still pending.

A group of about 50 people gathered around the deck off the third baseline to either watch or participate in the head-shaving spectacle. Men were the first called to get rid of their hair. The crowd cheered as the first locks of hair fell to the ground.

Nathan Wilson, a sophomore from Princeton, sported an “ask me why I’m bald” pin. Wilson said he took part because fighting childhood cancer is a passion of his since he lost a childhood friend to cancer. He also took part in Up ‘til Dawn, a fundraiser for St. Jude’s, because of his interest.

“Any chance to help St. Jude’s and fight childhood cancer, I’ll take it,” he said.

After the men had been shaved, women were next in line. Most of the women opted to have their hair shortened, as opposed to completely shaved off. Several girls looked shocked as scissors and razors trimmed several locks of hair.

Gabbi Hagan, the event organizer, took part in the event for a third time, getting her head completely shaved. Hagan said she liked doing this event because of what it stands for.

“It’s a really neat thing to see everyone come together for it, to fight childhood cancer,” she said.

Courtney Martin, a freshman from Murray, said that while she’s not used to her hair being shorter, she’s glad she took part.

“I keep grabbing for it, and it’s not there,” she said. “I always wanted to do this, and this was the perfect opportunity to do it with my sisters.”