{"id":159267,"date":"2026-03-10T15:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/159267\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T15:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:41:14","slug":"st-johns-university-students-shave-heads-for-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/159267\/","title":{"rendered":"St. John’s University Students Shave Heads for Charity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"\"\"Brendan Blomquist said he is happy he put his head in barber Manny Keith\u2019s capable hands. Blomquist has done this before, having participated in a St. Baldrick\u2019s head-shaving event when he was a student at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Academy on Staten Island. (Photos: Paula Katinas)<\/p>\n

JAMAICA \u2014\u00a0Samson and Delilah\u00a0have\u00a0nothing on the students at St. John\u2019s University<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But\u00a0unlike the famous Biblical tale of\u00a0Delilah tricking\u00a0Samson\u00a0into\u00a0losing his strength\u00a0by\u00a0cutting\u00a0his hair,\u00a0these\u00a0students\u00a0voluntarily\u00a0lost their locks\u00a0for\u00a0a\u00a0good cause.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On March 9,\u00a0dozens of\u00a0students\u00a0participated\u00a0in a fundraiser for the St. Baldrick\u2019s\u00a0Foundation, an organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research<\/a>. The students agreed to have their heads shaved to show solidarity with children battling cancer who have lost their hair during chemotherapy treatments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a young man, I realize that I am lucky to be in good health.\u00a0This shows solidarity with kids who\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have that same good fortune,\u201d said sophomore Joseph Kinsella, just before\u00a0he sat in the barber\u2019s chair to have\u00a0hair stylist\u00a0Manny\u00a0Keith shave off his hair. \u201cIf I can do something\u00a0small like this\u00a0and raise money for them, it means a lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

His\u00a0friend, Salvatore Martucci, a junior,\u00a0who also agreed to\u00a0shave his head,\u00a0said he wanted to raise awareness of pediatric cancer<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I love the fact that it brings the community together,\u201d Martucci said. \u201cThere are a lot of people out here in support.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0St. John\u2019s students raised $12,400 toward their $20,000\u00a0goal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: Love Through Buzzcuts at St. Francis de Sales Academy<\/a><\/p>\n

The fundraiser,\u00a0which took place in the D\u2019Angelo Center on the St. John\u2019s\u00a0campus,\u00a0was\u00a0co-hosted by the university\u2019s\u00a0Student Government Inc., Office of Fraternity\u00a0and Sorority Life,\u00a0and\u00a0Office of Student Conduct.\u00a0The event had the atmosphere of a major sporting event, with each participant\u00a0earning\u00a0loud\u00a0cheers\u00a0from the crowd\u00a0as their names were\u00a0announced\u00a0before\u00a0stepping\u00a0onto\u00a0a stage\u00a0where two\u00a0barber chairs had been set\u00a0up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brendan Blomquist,\u00a0a\u00a0sophomore\u00a0who playfully pointed to his shaved head, confessed to feeling a little\u00a0nervous beforehand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was growing my hair out for a year. But I\u00a0came here today because I\u00a0thought\u00a0of all the kids who have cancer who lose their hair,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThis is a way to show them we care.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Female students also braved the barber\u2019s chair,\u00a0though they chose haircuts rather than\u00a0a razor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The St. Baldrick\u2019s fundraiser is so popular at St. John\u2019s University that alumni like Blanca Moreno, who graduated last year, come back to take part in the event. Moreno gets a kick out of showing everyone the ponytail that hairstylist Manny Keith has just cut off.<\/p>\n

In addition to having their heads shaved\u00a0or trimmed, the students\u00a0spent the past several weeks\u00a0soliciting\u00a0donations from friends and loved ones.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0fundraising effort will continue, said Jack Flynn,\u00a0assistant\u00a0dean of students, who joined the students in getting his head shaved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Founded in 1999, the\u00a0St.\u00a0Baldrick\u2019s Foundation\u00a0promotes and encourages pediatric cancer fundraisers\u00a0worldwide\u00a0in which participants shave their heads.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0foundation\u2019s\u00a0name\u00a0is\u00a0derived\u00a0from\u00a0a clever\u00a0combination\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0word\u00a0\u201cBald\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0St.\u00a0Patrick\u2019s name.\u00a0The\u00a0first\u00a0head-shaving\u00a0fundraiser\u00a0took\u00a0place\u00a0on\u00a0St.\u00a0Patrick\u2019s\u00a0Day<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a02000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s University has a special connection to the St. Baldrick\u2019s Foundation, said Flynn, who noted that\u00a0John Bender of the Class of 1987 co-founded the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: Local Nonprofit Provides Uplifting Moments for People Fighting Cancer<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s\u00a0being\u00a0a Catholic institution\u00a0founded\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0Congregation\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Mission (more commonly\u00a0known\u00a0as the Vincentians)\u00a0is another\u00a0big reason for\u00a0its\u00a0participation\u00a0in St.\u00a0Baldrick\u2019s, Flynn\u00a0added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u00a0cannot\u00a0be a Vincentian institution without service to those in need,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Michael Aruta, a senior, noted how lucky the students are.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can choose to shave our heads.\u00a0If my hair grows back in six months, I can live with that,\u201d Aruta said. \u201cBut children with cancer\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have that choice. They\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0choose to lose their hair. It just happens to them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aruta was eager to\u00a0participate\u00a0but admitted that his mother\u00a0\u201cwasn\u2019t\u00a0thrilled\u201d\u00a0by the idea of a bald son. \u201cI took my graduation photos today, before coming here for this.\u00a0So,\u00a0I think\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0be\u00a0OK,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brendan Blomquist said he is happy he put his head in barber Manny Keith\u2019s capable hands. Blomquist has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-159267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}