LAWRENCE: The kindest cut of all – ‘Shavees’ step up to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
LAWRENCE — Anthony Armenti hopped up onto the barber’s chair, brushing his long locks away from his face as he waited patiently for the hairdresser to begin snipping his dark brown hair.
“It’s so long, Mom,” Anthony said to his mother, Susan Armenti. She stood behind the yellow barrier with her husband, Vito Armenti, near the bar at Amalfi’s Cuisine on the Lawrenceville-Pennington Road Saturday afternoon.
“For a couple of months, this is the daughter I never had,” Ms. Armenti quipped. Every morning, she helped Anthony — one of her three sons — shampoo his hair and then blow-dry it before leaving for classes at Lawrence Intermediate School. He is in sixth grade.
Watching as the hairdresser pulled bunches of his hair aside and rolled them up in a rubber band, Ms. Armenti quipped that “you’re making her work.” The hairdresser snipped away at the bundles of hair one by one, and then finished with an electric razor. All that was left was stubble.
“I didn’t know it was so long, Mom,” he said, holding up one of the clippings. He handed it over to Ms. Armenti, adding that “it feels weird” as he rubbed his hand over his stubbly, newly-shorn head.
But it was all for a good cause.
Anthony was one of more than 200 volunteers — known as “shavees” — who offered to have their heads shaved to raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation on Saturday. The nonprofit group funds research to cure childhood cancer, and the head-shaving event is its signature fundraiser.
About 4 percent of all federally funded cancer research is spent on childhood cancer research, even though cancer kills more children than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies and diabetes combined every year, according to St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s website.
Saturday’s event, organized by Drs. Michael and Melissa McCue of Colonial Valley Chiropractic, raised more than $162,000 in pledges — and more money will be pouring in. The goal was to raise $75,000 this year. The event at Amalfi’s has raised more than $900,000 since its inception nine years ago.
Nearly two dozen teams participated this year. Each of the seven Lawrence Township public schools fielded a team of shavees to raise money. Getting into the spirit, Colonial Valley Chiropractic fielded a team whose members included Dr. Michael McCue. Several Lawrence youth athletic teams took part, too.
But the event also draws participants from other towns and school districts.
The Hopewell Valley Regional School District sent a team this year — “Team Bear Tavern,” whose team captain is Bear Tavern Elementary School principal Christopher Turnbull. A regular shavee, he is the former principal of the Ben Franklin Elementary School in Lawrence.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District sent “Team Wage Hope,” which included four high school coaches and young cancer survivor Juan Pena Velasquez, who graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in 2015.
Team Wage Hope member Bryan Fisher coaches West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South’s varsity soccer team, and Brian Paulson coaches its swim team. Jeff Reilly is the varsity football coach at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, and Tim Stevens coaches its varsity basketball team.
“This is my sixth year. It’s just a wonderful cause to raise money for childhood cancer research,” Coach Fisher said. He learned about the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser through Kerry Kemo, who teaches in the school district and is friendly with the two Drs. McCue. She lives in Lawrence.
“It’s natural for teachers and coaches to get involved. (Helping children) is what we do every day. There is no greater way to help than to raise money for childhood cancer research,” Coach Fisher said as he, too, ran his hand over his newly shaven head.