While many students sacrifice their time and money for charity, one fraternity decided they would donate something a bit more personal.
41 Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brothers had their heads shaved by Noggins’ barbershop volunteers yesterday afternoon to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer.
LSA junior Josh Palka, event organizer for Sig Ep, said that so far the fraternity has raised $7,400 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation — a California-based organization that works with volunteers who shave their heads in order to raise funds for pediatric cancer research.
LSA freshman Charlie Zeller, chief of marketing for the event, said the fraternity has raised the money through optional personal donations. Many of the brothers have been raising money for the past month by contacting friends and family, in addition to bucketing outside the event for spectators who want to donate to the cause.
The idea for the event came from one of their members who had participated in a similar event in his high school, Zeller said.
“We were looking for a philanthropic event to raise money for a charity that our fraternity could put on,” he said.
Palka said the fraternity does a lot of philanthropic work and found this form of community service to be the “ultimate way of giving back.”
“Being bald is going to show for a while after the event is over and will raise awareness for kids with cancer to a lot of people,” Palka said.
The fraternity hopes to make this event an annual one, Zeller said.
“We want Sig Ep to be known for putting on this event,” he said. “It’s such a great cause and we want to be able to raise that money for something worthwhile.”
Palka said that having his head shaved is going to take some getting used to but that the benefits for the charity outweigh the aesthetics.
“I’m sure it’s going to be weird to feel my head and looking like a Q-tip but a lot of (kids with cancer) don’t get the pleasure of getting their hair grown back because of the chemotherapy,” he said. “It’s a small sacrifice for us.”
Palka said his cousin passed away at the age of four from cancer and that participating in this event is a way to give back to those in need.
Though he doesn’t have personal experience with pediatric cancer, Zeller said it still hits “close to home” since his father had cancer several years ago and is now in remission.
Zeller said he doesn’t have any concerns about being bald for a while.
“I’m over the fact that it might not look the best,” he said. “Since it’s for such a great cause hopefully people will ask me why my head’s shaved and I’ll be able to tell them about it and raise even more awareness and possibly get even more donations.”