Members of the Buffalo State swimming & diving teams participated in the Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s “Goin’ Bald for Bucks” fundraiser as part of preparation for this week’s State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships to be held at the Flickinger Aquatic Center in downtown Buffalo.
Buffalo State swimmers and divers solicited donations from friends and family to cut their hair and shave their heads, raising more than $1,000 for the cause. In addition, three women had at least 10 inches of hair cut to be donated to “Locks of Love”, an organization that meets a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure.
Over the past six years, Goin' Bald for Bucks has become a favorite fundraiser among local schools and businesses, raising over $400,000. The dollars are applied each year to Roswell Park research showing the greatest promise to help save lives, and for support programs for patients and their families.
Sophomore
Christina Jasek (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda) organized the Bengals’ efforts after hearing about the program on the radio. “As soon as I heard about it I thought it was a perfect way for us to raise money for a great cause,” Jasek said.
Buffalo State will be among the nine teams competing for the SUNYAC title this week. The meet begins with diving on Wednesday afternoon and continues through Saturday. Swimming prelims will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings beginning at 10 a.m. and the finals will be each evening at 6 p.m.