Cancer affects hundreds of thousands of families yearly, striking them with treacherous medical costs and lengthy hospital stays. Victims of cancer unwillingly end up sporting a bald head as a result of chemotherapy, but seniors Camille Alvino and Kendall Olsen are making a statement for those who have no choice.

On Sept. 29, both Alvino and Olsen chose to shave their heads in part of a fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a “volunteer-driven charity committed to promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long, healthy lives.”

“I had heard about St. Baldrick’s, and when I heard there was going to be an even near me I decided to commit to shaving my head and participating in the event,” Alvino said.

As part of the fundraiser, participants were asked to collect donations for the cause up until the day of the event. Family members and friends were some of the resources used to raise money

“Most of my friends were very proud of me,” Alvino said. “Some were nervous about the fact that I wasn’t going to have any hair. My family was almost the opposite, the ones that knew about it were all nervous. My own grandma said she disapproved, but she donated to [my sister and I] anyways. Overall, [we] raised $976.”

Through events like the shaving Alvino and Olsen attended, St. Baldrick’s has rasied $33,916,999 in 2013 so far, according to their website. Additionally, there have been 371,578 participants and 6,911 events and fundraisers throughout the world since the foundation was founded. Most importantly, the widespread participation has raised $127,543,680 for research grants directly applied to finding a cure for childhood cancer.

With the day having been anticipated for months, the “pre-shave jitters” were not an issue for Olsen, as she was too excited to sport her new bald head.

“As weird as it sounds, I was never nervous about shaving my head,” Olsen said. “At no point did I have second thoughts or freak out about losing my locks. At the event, literally all I felt was excitement. I had a countdown going because I was so excited.”

Alvino shared the same excitement towards the St. Baldrick’s shaving.

“I had been looking forward to [the event], and every time someone donated to my fund I got more and more excited,” Alvino said. “By the day of the event, I was just about saying ‘Come on! I wanna shave my head already!’”

Each shaving took approximately 15 minutes to complete. Both men and women of all ages took a shaver to their heads to raise awareness of childhood cancer.

By the time the girls’ heads were shaved, they felt nothing but the thrill of standing up for those who have no other options but to be bald.

“I had a fun time, I raised money for children’s cancer reaserch and I showed everyone what being bald is like,” Alvino said. “As the St. Baldricks people put it, I was ‘being a hero for people with cancer who don’t have the choice to lose their hair.’”

This event also helped raise awareness in another important issue – body image. Olsen confessed that because of the event, she has become more aware of society’s picture of perfect.

“This event was one of the first times I actually felt like I was making a difference,” Olsen said. “I also saw how much society is concerned with appearances, which really opened my eyes. It was honestly a life-changing experience.”

Additionally, Alvino saw the event to be a way to express her belief that there is no definition of perfect. She believes teenage emphasis on looks is detremental.

“People focus too much on how they look, especially people our age,” Alvino said. “If I had though about that, I wouldn’t have done [the event] in fear of not looking good without hair. I believe that’s not the right way to look at it; everyone is beautiful, even if you don’t have hair. You are still beautiful in your own way.”

Olsen also added a few words of advice for people thinking about getting involved with St. Baldrick’s.

“The only person you need to impress is yourself,” Olsen said. “Having a positive attitude, making a difference and being a good person are just a few of the things on a long list that are more important than having long, luxurious hair. [St. Baldrick’s] is a truly incredible foundation and event. If you’re worried about the drastic ‘haircut,’ it’s just hair. It will grow back. I promise you won’t even miss it and I just know you’ll look fab bald.”

If you are interested in shaving your head for the next St. Baldrick’s fundraiser, please visit stbaldricks.org to register for the upcoming events in 2014.