For the Oswego State lacrosse team, a shaved head means only a small sacrifice to put a smile on a child’s face.

For the last three years, lacrosse head coach Dan Witmer and his players have raised money for the St. Baldrick’s pediatric cancer research foundation and have accumulated over $43,000 for the charity.
It all started a few years ago when a former Oswego State lacrosse player got involved with the foundation in the West Chester county region of New York. The player e-mailed newspaper stories about the St. Baldrick foundation to the coach to show him the foundation and its goals.

Witmer said he loved the look of it. In the 2006-07 season, the player came up to Oswego State to talk to the captains of that season’s lacrosse team. The team was sold.

The players have continued the tradition of raising money and are always the ones who want to contribute the most.

"I always go to my captains and ask them if they want to do it again, because it is the team’s decision, not mine," Witmer said.

This year was no different. The captains of the team were here as freshmen when the tradition first began, and feel a strong connection to it.

"They understand that it is so little a sacrifice for us, but it contributes to the whole cause," Witmer said.

For now, the team has stuck with the foundation. They raised over $17,000 last season and hope to add another $18,000 to the pot this year, making their four-year total about $63,000.

The team and other members of the community will be shaving their heads Wednesday, March 3 in the Campus Center at 7 p.m.