By John Custodio
SUNY Oswego public relations students Ajsa Mehmedovic, Angie Cordovez, Pablo Leon and Carter Vangee are working with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to raise awareness and funds to help fight childhood cancer by tabling in Marano Campus Center and collaborating with local businesses.
Started in 1999 by Tim Kenny, John Bender and Enda McDonnell as a way to return some of their “good fortune in business,” the event started on March 17, 2000, by shaving 19 people’s heads in Jim Prady’s Pub in New York City, which raised $104,000. The group quickly grew to raising more than $1 million by the spring of 2002. In 2004, St. Baldrick’s Foundation was officially funded, and has now funded $314 million in research grants since 2005, according to the official St. Baldrick’s Foundation website.
According to Mehmedovic, two other groups in her public relations capstone program are also involved with St. Baldrick’s, but her group is working to improve the outreach for the foundation to specific target demographics. For Mehmedovic’s group, they are targeting college-aged men through fraternities and athletic teams along with local businesses.
“We’ve worked with Kappa [Sigma], they tabled for us for a week,” Mehmedovic said. “And they raised almost $300. Theta Chi is tabling for us this week, and Alpha Phi Omega is tabling for us next week.”
Mehmedovic said they have also received donations from Utica Coffee Roasting Company in Utica, Eastside Nutrition in Oswego, and tabled at an Oswego hockey game that raised $100. On March 23, the bar The Ferris Wheel hosted a fundraiser with the group as well, giving a portion of the cover charge to the group for donation to raise $400.
SUNY Oswego ResLife and Housing is also a target for involvement according to Mehmedovic, with a challenge to begin with residence halls competing against each other to raise the most money for the foundation.
The head-shaving event will be April 24 at the Oswego Best Western, where participants will have their heads shaved and money will be collected for final donations. Some locals and SUNY Oswego students, such as members of the Oswego Wizards rugby team, have already committed to having their heads shaved.
John Custodio | The Oswegonian
