CLEVELAND — On Friday, for the 8th year in a row, St. Mark Catholic School in West Park teamed up with St. Baldrick's Foundation for a head-shaving event.
Nearly 100 people registered for a buzz cut to raise money for cancer research.
Students, parents, teachers and many more supporters stepped up to be heroes, each with a different reason, but the same goal.
"Children have a long time to live still," student Nicolas Torres said.
"I am going to be donating my hair to children for hair loss. They make free wigs for kids who have cancer or alopecia. So they will take my hair and turn it into a wig for a child," Megan Torres said.
Adam Andolina's daughter is a cancer survivor.
"Gigi was diagnosed with cancer at age three. And she had 800 days of treatment, which is quite a long time, but she actually ended treatment as she started kindergarten here at St. Mark," Adam said.
The younger participants understood the mission, too.
"My grandpa had cancer twice and my uncle had cancer once," said Jack Winchester, a student at St. Mark.
It's also about perspective as a parent.
"So I decided to cut my hair today because I have three healthy kids and I am very fortunate. We decided we were gonna raise some money for the kids who are not so fortunate and the families who, you know, don't have such healthy children," Megan said.
The reality is, kids battling cancer need more research.
"Unfortunately, only 4% of government funding for cancer research goes towards children," Adam said.
On Friday, the St. Mark School raised more than $63,000 at the 8th annual head-shaving event. To date, more than $500,000 has been raised for pediatric cancer research.
To learn more on St. Baldrick, click HERE.