Wednesday, Mar. 17, 2010

Bald is beautiful at Ravenscroft

On the Ravenscroft School campus, Band Director Bill Pendergrass and athlete-musician Will Byrd are getting their heads rubbed a lot. Folks just can't help themselves.

After having full heads of hair, Pendergrass and Byrd have become bald.

The two went chrome dome for cancer research as part of the St. Baldrick's Foundation's efforts to fight the disease in children and raising a tidy bit of money in the process.

And they weren't the only ones at Ravenscroft to shave their heads in solidarity with kids who lose their hair while undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Two dozen boys got in on the action.

At Ravenscroft, bald heads rule.

Pendergrass, 50, came up with the idea first.

When he told Byrd, his lead tuba player, that he was planning to shave his head to fight childhood cancer, the 17-year-old not only decided to join ranks, he formed a team at the school that is still raising money more than a week after a local St. Baldrick's Head Shaving event at Napper Tandy's in downtown Raleigh on March 7. When all the pledges are collected and counted, the Ravens will be sending as much as $8,000 to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Of that amount, Pendergrass raised $1,485 and Byrd raised $915.

In addition to playing tuba in the Ravenscroft pep and concert band, Byrd, a senior, is also a top soccer player for Ravenscroft, last season earning MVP honors at his school and making the all-conference, all-region and all-state teams. He's also in the Triangle United Soccer League, and plays the sport year round. Most of his fellow student "shavees" are Ravenscroft athletes and band mates.

"Come and see our band class and you'll see a lot of bald heads," Pendergrass said.

When Byrd joined the bald head club with his band director, he knew a few people who'd participate. He didn't expect more than 20 to sign up.

"And that includes two middle schoolers," Pendergrass said.

"I knew the impact we could make by getting the whole school involved," Byrd said. "History has shown that Ravenscroft can raise a significant amount of money for worthy causes."

Both Pendergrass and Byrd have experienced the effects of cancer, losing grandparents to the disease. Byrd has a friend who is fighting it now.

"I think most people are touched by cancer in some way," Pendergrass said.

Ravenscroft families were supportive of the Baldrick's event, and some fathers even joined in to shave their heads too.

"Some of the dads claimed they didn't have enough hair to shave in the first place," Pendergrass said. The band director usually sports a longer hairstyle and a beard. It's all gone now.

"My wife hated that beard," he said. "When I shaved it all off, she took me out to dinner."

Byrd laughed at his grandmother's reaction.

"When I called to tell her about it, I heard some rustling in the background," he said, laughing. "I heard her whisper to my grandfather 'I didn't know Baldrick was a saint.'"

100,000 shaved heads

If Baldrick had really existed, he very well may have been destined for sainthood.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation started in 1999 when three Irish-American businessmen in New York City decided to turn their St. Patrick's Day celebration into a benefit for pediatric oncology research by shaving their heads, demonstrating solidarity with children undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Between 2000 and 2009, the St. Baldrick's Foundation has shaved over 100,000 heads all over the world and raised $66 million to fight childhood cancer.

The foundation makes grants to research grants to help fill funding gaps at medical institutions where children are treated for cancer.

It's definitely a male-oriented effort. The organization's website reports that over 22,000 men and 2,500 women have had their heads shaved and have raised over $8 million so far in 2010.

Pendergrass plans to make the school's participation in St. Baldrick's an annual event and already has his 2011 team leader lined up after Byrd graduates.

So far, the Magellan Charter School in North Raleigh is the top participating school, raising $35,000 so far this year.

"Magellan is getting so big, they are looking to hold a special St. Baldrick's head-shaving at their school," Pendergrass said. "I'd love for the Ravenscroft event to grow that large."

If this first shaving is any indication, Ravenscroft's participation could just take off.

Pendergrass, a former surfer who grew up in Virginia Beach, jokes that his hair probably won't grow back, and he's hedging his bets.

"I think I'll keep it short anyway," he said. "It's liberating."