11 years and still going bald
Nancy Shea, the West Campus Attendance Office Receptionist, gets a new look during the staff shave on March 22. Photo courteous of Yearbook
April 3, 2019
At this time in March every year, the halls are painted in a sea of green and white not only for St. Patrick’s Day, but also to draw attention to a cause even more deserving of celebration: McHenry’s Annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser.
St. Baldrick’s, an event which raises money for cancer research and treatment, was brought into the McHenry community 11 years ago. Though according to the St. Baldrick’s website, the headquarters are based on California, and the fundraisers are held in various cities and venues across the nation.
Known for their generosity and commitment to this event, the McHenry community rallied together again on March 21 to raise $180,000, which will go to local families. In McHenry alone, more than $1.3 million has been raised for St. Baldrick’s and 4,760 heads have been shaved.
This year, in addition to the traditional sponsors, head shaving, and T-shirts sales, an old tradition was revived: Volleybald, or what is now known as the VolleyBaldrick’s Tournament. The tournament was a two-day event on March 8 and 9, and looked to help “set the way and dig up the funds”.
“The volleyball coach is amazingly enthusiastic about getting this going,” said Sandra Dwire, an AP human geography teacher and the St. Baldrick’s student committee advisor.
On March 8, there was a tournament for adults and on Mar. 9, a tournament for younger kids.
Not only was the volleyball team involved, but so were other students on the St. Baldrick’s student committee. The student committee was created in 2018 and is involved in planning events that help include students in the St. Baldrick’s event and fundraising.
However, some students have said the committee isn’t widely known about.
“I hope to see a lot more student involvement,” said Julia Zickus, who is the president of the student committee. “I feel not a lot of students know about [the St. Baldrick’s committee].”
The plan, according to Assistant Principal Greg Eiserman, is to make St. Baldrick’s more of a community event moving forward the next few years, rather than a high school-based event.
