Shave for the Brave News
Villanova was the Bravest School—who’s next?
Posted on Feb 05, 2011
In 2008, a sixth-grade student at Villanova Junior High named Zachary Gaudet approached his teacher and principal and asked if their school could do the Shave for the Brave. They were happy to help. Villanova has held a Shave every year since then and was crowned the 2010 Bravest School.
“It just seemed like a good thing to do at the time, raising money for cancer. I was getting my head shaved all the time anyway,” said Zach. He Shaved for at least three years and is considering doing it again.
Ms. Darlene Moulton, the Learning Resources teacher, Principal Barry Jenkins, and regular substitute, Ms. Cathy Hale, are currently the school’s Head Hunters and are looking forward to their event on March 22, 2011.
“I see school as not just about the books and reading and writing and math. [We’re] trying to build good people that think about the community and think about other people—and the kids love it!” said Ms. Moulton, Zach’s former homeroom teacher.
Mr. Jenkins says the Shave is especially poignant at Villanova because they have had a student in recent years that had cancer. She’s currently in high school and has relapsed.
“Having that as part of the initiative, you know you’re helping someone close to home. We know there’s people with cancer, but you don’t always have someone that’s close to you,” he said.
They encouraged girls to sign up as Mane Mamas last year and it was a great success. Mane Mamas wore feather boas to differentiate themselves as participants and sometimes raised more money than the Shaver they were supporting.
“Some of the girls didn’t want to cut their hair but they wanted to get involved because it was really exciting around here!” said Ms. Hale, who has Shaved with the kids in the past.
The Mane Mamas really helped with fundraising and encouraging the Shavers to do the same. The teachers say because of their involvement, the totals increased from $6,000 in 2009 to over $13,000 in 2010.
Zach was surprised at the number of people who were willing to help him. “A lot of them just came after. 20 people [the first] year, and 40 the next, it grew pretty fast.”
About 90 students signed up in 2010 and the three Head Hunters expect even more this year to help defend the title.
The bravest school is determined based on the percentage of students who sign up and Shave. Being declared the bravest school helped boost school spirit and made the students feel appreciated for the work they put into the fundraiser.
“They were very proud, the school was really proud,” said Ms. Moulton.
Zach’s friends didn’t let him forget his involvement in getting the Shave to the school in the first place. “[I had] a permanent smile, seeing all those Shaved heads and yellow hats.”
While the school was proud to receive the title, the teachers are proud of their students for continuing to get involved.
“Sometimes [with other fundraisers] we have a competition and try to give back a reward for collecting the most,” said Mr. Jenkins. “The kids do their thing knowing the importance of what they’re doing. They’re not looking for something in return…and I think they have a great bit of fun.”
Ms. Moulton said, “When we talked to them at the beginning, we talked about the intrinsic reward, that it should be important to you as a person and it will be.”
It seems like we won’t have to worry about the kids from Villanova growing up to be good people.
“It’s just a simple little coming together—I guess you’d call it—fundraiser. I don’t mind having my hair cut. Hair’s not really important to anyone, well, when you’re raising money for cancer,” said Zach.
Thank you to Zach, the staff at Villanova Junior High, and all the students who are getting involved this year.
Good luck defending that title!
UPDATE: We're happy to report that Zach did step up and Shaved his head again with Holy Spirit High School! Way to go!
STOP THINKING. START SHAVING.
