LUCAS — Elizabeth Yirga is keeping her hairdo simple for prom this year.
The 18-year-old senior at Lucas High School will have her head shaved prior to a staff-versus-senior basketball game at Lucas on March 16.
This isn’t a gimmick. It’s Yirga’s way of showing her support to children afflicted with cancer and inspiring others to donate to childhood cancer research.
She will be among thousands of people who shave their heads as part St. Baldrick’s head-shaving events.
Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s events have helped raise $232 million for lifesaving childhood cancer research, according to the organization’s website.
Yirga, who has a rare bone disease, empathizes with children facing health issues. The medications she took as a child caused her to lose most of her hair, she said.
“I wanted to give back any way I could to girls who lose their hair and don’t have a choice,” she said.
She first considered chopping her locks off about two years ago. When she revealed her intentions to her parents, it raised some eyebrows. But then she explained her reasoning.
“Some little girl is going to look beautiful with my hair,” she told her mother, Sharisse.
That’s when the connection was made that she wasn’t doing it on a whim, but for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
She hopes to raise $500, and she’s well on her way. As of Wednesday afternoon she had already raised $415. Click here to donate.
She’s also auctioning off the opportunity to shave her head at the game.
The first snip will be performed by a Lucas Elementary School student who has cancer. The highest bidder will then complete Yirga’s new look by shaving her head.
Pulling out a tape-measure, Yirga’s dad, Shawn, guessed she’ll be donating between 18 and 19 inches.
“She’s got more guts than I’ve got,” he said with a laugh.
Her hair will be given to the organization, Wigs for Kids, which provides hair replacement systems and support for children who have lost their hair due to medical issues.
She realizes she’ll be going to prom bald, but she doesn’t mind. She doesn’t plan to wear wig either because that’s part of raising awareness.
“There are girls out there who do go to prom bald not because they want to, but because they have to,” Sharisse said.
