Community Corner

Nanuet's O'Donoghue Rallies Scouts To Go Bald

There are many ways to support this Nanuet student his his troop this Sunday.

 

Bald for a cause is what Brendan O’Donoghue is going for. He’s not alone though. He’s formed a team with his fellow scouts called Nanuet Troop 33 to shave their heads for St. Baldrick's Day this Sunday, Mar. 11 at Dominican College.

This event raises funds for cancer research and support for kids with cancer. Each participant  raises funds to shave his/her hair in support of those kids with cancer who do not have a choice but to have their heads shaved and loss of hair from treatment. 

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“I just started the team this year,” he said. “So far there are four people in the team, but we think there will be more.”

The four of them are all excited about going bald.

Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“They said that they’re nervous because this is their first year doing it and this is my fifth year doing this,” said O’Donoghue. “I grew my hair without getting a haircut for a whole year and maybe just a little trim.”

He’s 11 going on 12 and when he first decided to shave his head, it was after watching his older brother participate.

“I started doing it because my brother was doing it and I though it would be nice so I tried it out and went on with it,” said O’Donoghue. “It was fun the first year I tried it and I was a little bit nervous, but after I did it, it felt really good and kept doing it. I want to keep on doing it every year.”

“His brother, Mikey, started doing it because , a teacher at Barr Middle School) and all the other teachers got the kids involved in this,” said O’Donoghue’s mother Mary.

Nanuet Troop 33 is at $290 out of their $1,000 goal and O'Donoghue has raised $240 out of his $750 goal. Those wanting to sponsor can do so at the team’s donation page.

“It’s great; the teachers in the school promote it, his older brother and his friends promote it too,” said Mary O’Donoghue.

“I would ask my parents (for donations). They also have a lot of friends and they donated money,” he said. “One of my mom’s friends lives in Ireland and donated $50. I was really excited to get it donated from someone from Ireland.”

“This gives him a sense of giving back and helping other people. We’er proud of him for doing it year after year,” said Mary O’Donoghue. “He’s gotten the scouts to join him this year and set up their team.” 

Here are some ways you can help:

  1. You could join him on stage and have your head shaved to help show kids that not having hair is not a big deal (free lunch at Baileys after for shavees.)
  2. You could come and help at the event, free t-shirt to volunteers and a lot of fun.
  3. You could donate to him or anyone else at events all over the country (there are more than 1,000 events going on this year.)


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