To help raise money in order to find a cure for pediatric cancer, Niles West will take part in the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser this year.

Students and faculty can sign up to shave their hair in honor of the children who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy. Those participating in the head shaving can seek monetary donations, from family and friends, that go towards the fundraiser. The head shaving will happen on March 13th during the assembly in front of the whole school. Dean Tim Dykes, who is in charge of the fundraiser, would like to have everyone willing to participate sign up by February 27th.

For students, there will be informational meetings today and next Friday at 3:30 in the student commons. The meetings will only last around ten minutes. The funds that are raised are used to get grants for scientific research in order to find a cure for .

This is the eighth year Dykes has run this fundraiser. He had the fundraiser running well at the previous school he was working in, so he hopes to continue the tradition this year. The project began when he and his friend were looking for a charity project. “If you think about how awful that would be, cancer itself is terrible, but for a kid it’s pretty horrible, so we wanted to fund raise in order to help,” he said.

Through the years, the fundraiser has raised a total of $100,000. The goal this year is to raise at least $3,000. The goal is lower because this is the first year that it’s taking off at Niles West. For now, Mr. Dykes wants to get the word out about the fundraiser and get students involved.

Those looking for more information or those who have questions about the fundraiser can contact Tim Dykes at his email: [email protected] .