MSA Raise Over $68,500 At St. Baldrick’s Event
On Monday, Mount Saint Agnes [MSA] students and staff shaved their heads to raise funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Bermuda Cancer & Health, raising over $68,500 as of this writing.
Mrs. Laurel Burgess, MSA’s Middle School Science & Math teacher, coordinated this year’s event which had participants from elementary through to high school.
MSA’s Principal, Mrs. Sue Moench, kicked off the event by sitting in the barber’s chair first. Mrs. Moench had challenged the elementary students, saying that she would shave her head if they raised $25,000 – needless to say, they did.
“The entire school, friends, and family came to support our shavees in the MSA auditorium Monday morning,” a spokesperson said.
“A mother and son team were our top fundraisers, Sophia Smethurst & Cameron sat side by side to have their heads shaved and have raised over $14,300 to date. The top individual fundraiser is Grade 5 student, Marcus Duarte, who has raised over $5,500.
The 1-hour live video replay is below:
“Many students have been coming up with creative ways to collect funds for this cause. Grade 5 student, Davis Barnes, set up a coin collection bucket in his classroom and as word spread, teachers and high school students contributed to his efforts. Additional funds will be added through a non-uniform day held for the event.
“In addition to fundraising for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a few of our participants will be donating their hair. MSA staff member, Ms. Laura Lyons, donated 12” of hair to “Locks of Love” last year has managed to donate 10” of hair to “Pantene Beautiful Lengths” now that she’s “Rocking the Bald”. MSA parents, Vicki Benevides and Sophia Smethurst are also donating their locks to be used to make wigs for those fighting cancer.
“Hairdressers donating their time for this event were Nicola [Freddy] King of Salon Visage, Liz Tuck [Salon Visage], Helen Stirling [Cutting Room], Traci Amaral, Bibbyanna and Yetta Roberts [Strands].
Photo slideshow of the event:
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“Azuree Williams, Bermuda Cancer and Health’s Events and SunSmart Coordinator, helped us recognize three of these wonderful volunteers for their years of voluntary service at St. Baldrick’s events.
“The esteemed League of Legendary Heroes includes: Nicola [Freddy] King is now a Knight of the Bald Table for her 7 years of shaving, Liz Tuck and Helen Stirling are both Squires of Hope for their 3+ years.”
The full MSA participant list is below.
| Elementary | Middle School | High School | Faculty, Staff, Parents |
| - Ethan Arruda | - Caleb Cook | - Noah Brady-Soares | - Mrs. Vicki Benevides [hair donor] |
| - Davis Barnes | - Ian Dasilva | - Simon Cabral | - Mr. Don Burgess |
| - Cameron Camara | - James Dunlop | - Connor Sinclair | - Mrs. Laurel Burgess |
| - Oliver Chow | - Noah Ferreira | - Mrs. Janet Laing | |
| - Rylan Cundliffe | - Joshua Furtado | - Miss Laura Lyons | |
| - Marcus Duarte | - Ethan Lawler | - Mrs. Shina Lyons | |
| - Aiden Glazebrook | - Josh Paltl | - Mrs. Sue Moench | |
| - Matthew Forester | - Lucien Penacho | - Mrs. Doreen Palmer | |
| - Connor Green | - Adriano Rymon-Lipinski | - Ms. Sophia Smethurst | |
| - Jake Hines | - Shane Tavares | ||
| - Ishe Hunidzarira | - Sam Vrieze | ||
| - Jacob King | - Nicholas Weikl | ||
| - Brandon MacDougall | |||
| - Jaden Marshall-Hollis | |||
| - Ethan McAlpine | |||
| - Aiden Medeiros | |||
| - Olek Rymon-Lipinski | |||
| - Simon Thompson | |||
| - Jake Thorpe |
