Golden Knights go bald for St. Baldrick's, raise $10K for childhood cancer research

March 31, 2022 · 2022

Saint Rose students and faculty posing with the $10,000 check to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. The check was donated by Digital Express.

Students, faculty, and community members gathered at The College of Saint Rose on a cloudy Friday afternoon in late March to fight for a common cause: ending childhood cancer.

The Saint Rose Business Professionals & Sales Organization (also known as the Sales Club) mobilized Saint Rose students and community members to shave their heads and raise funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the biggest nongovernment funder of childhood cancer research grants.

“You look around and you see all these students supporting this event, and the College as a whole supporting it,” said Mark Michalisin, sales professional in residence, the club’s advisor, and a participant in the head-shaving event. “You can’t ask for anything better.”

During the pandemic, kids were still being diagnosed with cancer, but donations to support research went down drastically. That’s why the Sales Club launched their campaign in early March. Members of the Sales Club worked together to raise money ahead of the event, encouraging other students to form fundraising teams. The Saint Rose men’s lacrosse and baseball teams both formed fundraising teams. Together, the athletes raised nearly $1,800.

Professor John Dion post-shave.Saint Rose student and president of the Sales Club, Sydney Poirier, post-shave.Saint Rose student Dominic Meola post-shave. Meola raised $250 for the campaign.Saint Rose student Christian Hunt post-shave.

But it wasn’t only Saint Rose students participating. Saratoga Springs father and son Ian and Ben DeMeritt have been shaving their heads for St. Baldricks for seven years; they came to Saint Rose to participate this year and, according to the Sales Club’s team donation page, raised more than $2,100 – the most for this year’s campaign.

Originally, Michalisin and the Sales Club students had a goal of raising $2,500; by the day of the head-shaving event, they had raised $10,000, thanks in part to a donation from the College.

Photos by Isa Sanchez