Centereach event raises more than 28K for pediatric cancer
On March 22, the Centereach Civic Association hosted a St. Baldrick’s Day event at the Centereach Fire Department’s main firehouse on Washington Avenue.
The night included head shaving to raise money for pediatric cancer, and barbers and hairdressers from Rockabilly in Stony Brook and Blondie’s Salon in Centereach were on hand to shave the heads of men, women and children.
The event also included food, raffles and a performance by Irish step dancers from the Mulvihill-Lynch Studio of Irish Dance. A grand total of $28,608 was raised.
AnnMarie Pszybylski, from St. James, said she was prepared to have her head shaved March 20 at an event at R.C. Murphy Junior High School in Stony Brook to raise money for Alexa, a Murphy student who is a cancer survivor. When she found out the event was only for students, she reached out to the organizer of the Centereach event, Jennifer Bielmeier Dickson, to see if she could get her head shaved there and donate the money to Alexa’s team. The answer was yes.
“These children are the brave ones and the strong ones,” Pszybylski said. “If I was able to help in some small way, I’m thrilled and blessed.”
Pszybylski said when she arrived at the firehouse she met the team Soul Sisters for Sophia comprised of shavees Diane Miller, Liann Dennis, Linda Esposito-Azmitia and Lisette Robustelli and volunteers Susan Smith and Renata Ptak. The women, who were raising money for a Dawnwood Middle School student named Sophia diagnosed with stage three nasopharyngeal carcinoma in December, invited her to get her head shaved with them. Miller said her team raised nearly $8,000, with Robustelli raising more than $2,500 of the amount.
