Student Government Association Hosts 2nd Annual St. Baldrick's Fundraiser
Noelle Stamm '26 getting a haircut after she made a donation to St. Baldricks to fight childhood cancer. Photo by Ava Battinelli '26
On March 4, the Marist Student Government Association (SGA) hosted its second annual Cut for Cure fundraiser supporting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. St. Baldrick’s is the largest volunteer-driven non-profit contributor to childhood cancer research grants worldwide.
To support the cause, SGA invited Marist students, faculty and staff to participate in the fundraiser. Participants were able to either shave their head in solidarity with kids fighting cancer or donate a ponytail of 10 inches or more to Locks of Love.
Ahead of the event, participants were encouraged to join the “Raise for a Cut” fundraising challenge, which collected donations in the lead-up to the event. The top 10 fundraisers were then eligible for a free haircut at the event, while walk-in participants could get a haircut in exchange for a $10 donation pledge supporting the cause.
Stylists from Luxe Salon and Spa in Poughkeepsie were on-site, assisting with haircuts and donations. Their participation in the event allowed the fundraiser to operate like a salon pop-up, ensuring hair donations met requirements and providing participants with a styled cut.
In addition to fundraising and hair donations, attendees could shop for exclusive MPorium merchandise at the event, with all proceeds benefiting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. This year, Marist was able to donate over $4,000, with donations continuing to come in, surpassing last year’s event total, reflecting a growth in student participation and awareness in the event.
A student getting his head shaved after making a donation to St. Baldricks to fight childhood cancer. Photo by Ava Battinelli '26
The event saw five shavees and seven haircuts, and SGA considered it a great success. Many participants stuck around after their cuts to watch their peers participate, creating an atmosphere of excitement and encouragement in the Rotunda.
The planning for this event started back in Oct 2025, Vice President of Academic Affairs Ana Domenici '27 explained.
“We decided to do it earlier in the semester this year, so the planning started in the fall when I was still abroad. So John Genoni ‘27, Noelle Stamm ‘26 and Jami Rusczyk ‘26 started going across the campus as ambassadors for the event,” Domenici explained.
Planning the event required coordination across several campus offices to ensure the fundraiser would maximize donations. SGA worked with campus partners from both St. Baldrick’s and the University to secure the space, coordinate marketing efforts and ensure guidelines were followed properly.
“When it comes to fundraising, you don’t want to spend a lot of money, because you want to raise a lot of money. So there’s a lot of partnership with [these offices],” Domenici added.
Compared to last year’s event, Chief Communications Officer Noelle Stamm ‘26 explained that they worked to increase participation across campus.
“This year, our goal was to build more participation. So we did tablings around campus, making more people aware of the event and opened our fundraising window much earlier,” Stamm said.
Looking forward, SGA is looking forward to continuing to build its relationship with St. Baldrick’s in the years to come.