A group of Georgetown University School of Medicine students organized a fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity that raises money for childhood cancer research, April 5.

St. Baldrick’s is the largest charitable funder of research grants and raises money for childhood cancer research by hosting volunteer-led head-shaving events in the United States and around the world. Georgetown’s event marks the 13th Annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in the Washington, D.C., area.

Sabrina DeLeonibus (MED ’27), a medical student at Georgetown and organizer of the event, said that a primary goal of the fundraiser is to share St. Baldrick’s mission with the broader Georgetown community.

“The purpose of shaving their heads is to bring awareness about the organization. It’s an action done in solidarity for children with cancer,” DeLeonibus told The Hoya. “Each shavee is able to start their own fundraising page on the St. Baldrick’s website, and that’s how we also try to bring more awareness and reach a larger community.”

Hair donations will be used to provide free wigs to children suffering from cancer and the hair loss associated with medical treatment. St. Baldrick’s works with partner organizations such as Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit providing the hair to children at no additional cost, to make this a reality.

According to DeLeonibus, providing the wigs at no cost to the patients is an important part of the fundraiser.

“What’s really great about this organization is that they’ll provide wigs free of charge for children who’ve lost their hair due to medical causes,” DeLeonibus said. “One of the things when you’re donating your hair is to look into whether or not these organizations charge children.” 

Joseph Piccolo (MED, GRD ’27), another coordinator of Georgetown’s fundraising event, explained how his previous experience working in a pediatric oncology unit exposed him to the profound impacts of childhood cancer and motivated him to become involved in raising funds for St. Baldrick’s.

“It was one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve had,” Piccolo told The Hoya. “You would assume it’s the saddest place in the hospital, but it’s actually filled with so much laughter and uplifting spirit because kids are so much stronger than you think. We’re trying to support them in any way possible, and one way that we can is through research.” 

Phillip Cathers (MED ’25), an event organizer who has donated hair for the past two years, said that this is the third year that the event has returned after being temporarily canceled due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he said the event has increasingly grown in attendance and participation in hair donation.

“The first year the event was back was much smaller, only a handful cut their hair,” Cathers told The Hoya. “Last year was bigger, and I think we had eight people cut their hair. This year is even bigger, and hopefully it keeps growing,” 

As the event has grown over the years, Cathers said so has the fundraising goal.

“Three years ago, our goal was $5,000. Last year it was $8,000, and this year was $10,000, so we’re hoping to grow it over time,” Cathers said.

In addition to head-shaving, the fundraiser featured a visit from the campus mascot, Jack the Bulldog, live music and a raffle to support fundraising efforts.

Britney Shaw (SOH ’23, MED ’27), another coordinator of the fundraiser, said that the raffle in particular is an effort to cater to medical students at Georgetown and increase donations beyond the head shaving. 

“In the raffle, we do things that specifically cater to Georgetown med students just to try to get more incentive to join us,” Shaw said.

Going forward, Shaw hopes to continue supporting St. Baldrick’s by expanding the scope of the event to include undergraduate students and encouraging them to hold additional fundraising events in upcoming years. 

“I’m hoping that we can either make this a bigger event or get Georgetown undergraduates to host their own event because I know that would generate so many more hair donations,” Shaw told The Hoya.

Piccolo emphasized the importance of fundraisers supporting pediatric cancer such as St. Baldrick’s, as it is an uncommon but impactful disease.

“It’s a rare disease, pediatric cancer, but it affects people so deeply and it’s such an important thing to take care of,” Piccolo said.