Last year, to commemorate a dearly missed student at Somerset Hills School District, students and staff decided to host a fundraising event through the foundation of St. Baldricks. Campbell G. Hoyt, a beloved and missed student at Bedwell Elementary School, lost her five-year battle to Empendymoma – a brain and spinal cord cancer with no cure in August of 2014. She would have graduated last year with the class of 2024, but due to her battle with cancer, that was not made possible.
On Thursday, March 13th, the Flutterflies Club hosted the second annual St. Baldrick’s Head Shaving event. Twenty-nine shavees braved the shave, and around $25,000 were raised. These shavees were: Tyler Pace who raised $3,258, Will Candia, Tucker Gallagher, Rocco Parente, Greyson Meyer, Bodie Cook, Matt Falzarano, Sonny Liranzo, Peter Malleo, Nate DeNicola, Justin Simpson, Charlie Benegas, Jaykob Marquez, James Renz, Finn Osborne, Erik Annette, Chris Peterson, Ben Juth, and Jen Burlingame (a Mom/Community member of Bernardsville).
As the night went on people kept donating even more money than expected. As more and more money was raised, more and more people were inspired. Eight more people stepped up on the spot to support the cause and shaved their heads for a total of 29 shaves. These people included: Alex Vaccarro, Caleb Juth, David DePierro, Hudson Gershon, Jack Rutz, Jacob Tomasello, Jake Wieczorek, James Gallagher, Jordan Riley, and Peter Mathus (a science teacher at BHS). Peter Malleo ‘25, a shavee, who raised $1,345, said he shaved his head because of the “really good cause and opportunity to raise money for childhood cancer”. A total of around 200 people attended the event and it provided a great atmosphere. Green balloons lined the doors, music was blasting throughout the gymnasium, and raffle tickets to different local businesses such as Penguin Ice Cream, Golden Flower Nail Salon, and more were sold at the door. Over 100 students were in the student section waiting to see the entrance of the 19 shavees.
In 2024, in honor of Campbell Hoyt, the Flutterflies Club hosted the first-ever head-shaving event at Bernards High School in which $24,353 were raised, and 14 shavees shaved their heads. This motivating club decided to collaborate with St. Baldrick’s Foundation and history was made. Now, Mrs. O’Brien, an English teacher and an advocate for our student body, hopes “it might become an annual event at BHS.” This aspiration has become one of many for St. Baldricks.
This event raised $25,000 for childhood cancer research. Check out the video above to see the event and the spirit of the community.
