Cape team to get heads shaved for a cause

Darren Jones shaved his head once and decided it wasn't a good look.

Now with hair "however long nose-length is," he said he is going to give it another shot for charity.

"My hair is longer now than it probably has been in my entire life," said Jones, the youth minister at First General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau.

Kimberly Crossett, a junior at Jackson High School, recruited him to be part of her team and shave his head for St. Baldrick's Foundation, which raises money for child cancer research.

Teams form to raise money in exchange for losing their locks. The foundation sponsors hundreds of events across the country. Cape Girardeau will also host its first St. Baldrick's event next month.

Crossett's team, which also includes her boyfriend and father, will head to a St. Louis event this weekend to go under the clippers. So far the team has raised $500, she said.

Crossett will lose the hair that reaches just past her shoulders. Classmates, she said, were proud of the action.

"They say they're not brave enough to do it but they really respect me for doing something like this," Crossett said.

She said she wanted to do something charitable, but is also doing it in memory of her 5-year-old cousin who died of cancer nine years ago.

"It just made me realize what all they have to go through," she said.

Bailey McClellan said her family has participated in a St. Louis event for five years and she wanted to start one in Cape Girardeau. The event will be April 24 at Buckner Brewing Co.

"You get to hear stories of other families that have gone through this," she said.

Stylists from J.C. Penney will be shaving off the hair, she said. The event will also honor local children who have or have been treated for cancer.

"The coolest part is talking to the kids, to see all these people coming out to help them," she said.

McClellan said she hopes to raise at least $5,000 at the event. There will also be a silent auction.

Once the shaving starts, the master of ceremonies might try to raise the stakes for more money, with permission of the shavee, she said.

"They kind of auction off different areas like a beard or an eyebrow," she said.

Phil Brinson, owner of Buckner Brewing Co., raised about $500 so far through an e-mail campaign. He said he hopes to raise $3,000.

"I've always wanted to do it at some point to see what it looks like," he said.

To participate in the Cape Girardeau event, contact McClellan at 314-369-5949 or bailey@bucknerbrewing.com.

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Pertinent address:

132 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO