Around 15 Hofstra University North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine students and teachers shaved their heads at the university's student center last week to show solidarity and support for juvenile cancer patients.
"Cancer has hit so many people...in many ways over the years and this is one way to kind of give back, and to demonstrate that there is an ongoing global struggle against cancer," a communications teacher, Mario Murillo, told CBS New York.
Rachel Mogil, a student, said that she will be donating her hair for the third time to the charity, Locks of Love, in memory of a high school friend who lost her battle with cancer.
Mogil said that her friend lost her hair due to Chemotherapy and she has decided to shave her head to help someone else.
This head shaving event was part of the St. Baldrick's Foundation's child cancer fundraiser. The money raised will be incorporated for paediatric oncology research.
Several students who had long hair did not hesitate to shave their heads.
Along with Mogil, Brooke Nelson also donated her hair to the NGO, which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the U.S. and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
A second-year student, A.J. Blood, said that this was a great way to experience the pain of an illness from the patients' perspective. This is the second time he has shaved his head.
Apart from the university, students from St. Charles School, Crystal Lake South High School and McHenry County College also donated their hair at their respective St. Baldrick's Foundation's charity events.
