‘Buzz for Bravery’: Dozens from Orlando Health shave heads in fight for childhood cancer
ORLANDO, Fla. —
Two dozen Orlando Health staff members and University of Central Florida athletes shaved their heads during the second annual “Buzz for Bravery” event, raising awareness and money for childhood cancer and sickle cell while supporting young patients undergoing treatment.
Children receiving care at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children also joined the event, helping shave volunteers’ heads.
“We are shaving our heads to raise awareness for childhood cancer, but even more importantly, to stand in solidarity with our bravest patients who are battling cancer and raise funds needed to find a cure,” hospital President Justin Williams said.
Participation quadrupled from the event’s first year, growing from six volunteers to 24.
For Dr. Nicole Armstrong Demoraes, an outpatient pediatrician known for her long purple hair, taking part was emotional.
“It was really just a wonderful experience,” Armstrong Demoraes said. “They have so many obstacles in their way, and they face each day with such determination and such joy. This is a small way that we can show that we are thinking about them, that we are behind them and that we are cheering for them.”
Williams has shaved his head nine times in support of children with cancer, beginning before Buzz for Bravery launched at the hospital.
“This energy is palpable,” Williams said. “Our community here, our physicians, all rallying around these kids who are bravely battling cancer — I can’t put it into words.”
For volunteers, the transformation offers a lasting reminder of the children they serve.
“As I look in the mirror in the morning and I get ready — and inevitably when I go to put up my hair — it will make me think of them,” Armstrong Demoraes said.