Regians “Brave The Shave” To Fight Against Childhood Cancer

TJ Hartley '23 (left) and Sebastian Cardena '22 and his father (right) “braved the shave" to raise awareness for childhood cancer. 

On Friday, February 26, students, faculty, and staff participated in the 10th Annual St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event. Hosted by Catalyst, Regis’ Christian service club, the event raised money in the fight against childhood cancer, and encouraged members of the community to “brave the shave” and stand in solidarity with those impacted by the disease. 

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long, healthy lives. Worldwide, 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and in the U.S., more children die of childhood cancer than any other disease. Because children with cancer often lose their hair during treatment, “shavees” for the St. Baldrick's Foundation show their support by shaving their heads voluntarily, with the hope of inspiring friends and family to donate money to support childhood cancer research.

Hosted virtually this year, those shaving their heads gathered in a Zoom webinar, where one-by-one participants were brought to the virtual stage to shave their heads live. Fellow Regians cheered on throughout the event, and were invited to donate directly to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in lieu of, or in addition to, shaving their heads. A majority of the donations will go directly to finding a cure, with a portion going to support The Regis Kibera Project, which supports young people affected by HIV/AIDS in the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya. 

“St. Baldrick’s has been a Regis tradition for the last 10 years, and has become an event I have looked forward to every year,” said Sebastian Cardena ’22, who helped coordinate the day’s activities. “Upon seeing that Catalyst had struggled with service opportunities in the last year, we decided that we should try to continue this act of humility and generosity into this new online world, hoping that we could raise awareness and facilitate solidarity among the Regis community.”

Guidance Counselor Ms. Christine Badi's husband, Jozsef, shaved his head to stand with childhood cancer patients.