DAVENPORT _ Black, brown, blond and gray locks fell as more than 30 staff and students from Charlotte Valley Central School let their heads be shaved Sunday to raise money for an alumna.
Annabel Kugler, a 2006 Charlotte Valley Central School graduate who is being treated for cancer, visited with friends, former classmates and local residents as the Davenport community held a barbecue fundraiser. The event generated almost $10,000 through the shavings, food sales, an auction and donations, according to early tallies Sunday night, said Cindy MacCracken, school band director who volunteered for a head-shaving.
Dozens of people crowded underneath the pavilion of the Davenport Fire Department on Main Street. The town of Davenport has fewer than 2,800 residents, and Charlotte Valley Central School in Davenport enrolls about 400 students.
Originally, 15 people at the school signed up to have their heads shaved, said MacCracken, one of two women willing to give up her hairdo. But as the newly shorn rose, the seats were filled by other volunteers, and she estimated between 35 and 40 heads were shaved and more than $2,000 was raised.
Kugler said she was ``amazed'' by the outpouring of support and touched to see people losing their locks on her behalf.
``It reminded me of when I had to shave my head,'' she said. She especially appreciated the women's contribution, she said, because losing head-hair is difficult.
``Hair comes back,'' said Justin Keator, 15, a 10th-grader at Charlotte Valley, moments after his head was shaved. Keator, of East Meredith, said he volunteered because ``it's a donation for a good cause.'' The event also raised awareness about the experiences of cancer patients, including Kugler, who don't have choices about what happens to their hair, he said.
Kugler would have been a senior at Buffalo State College this year but took time off for treatment at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.
Guilaine Ballet, of Davenport, said her daughter, Annabel, was diagnosed June 9 with Ewing's sarcoma and has been treated with chemotherapy since August, with more treatments ahead.
``This is going to be a long process,'' she said. Kugler has health insurance, Ballet said, and the money raised Sunday will help pay medical costs not covered by insurance and other expenses related to her care.
``I never expected this level of support,'' said Ballet, a high school guidance counselor at Charlotte Valley. ``But it doesn't surprise me _ this community is so generous.''
A test this past week revealed the tumor was smaller, which was good news, Kugler said, and the hope is that overall treatment will be complete in February.
On-lookers around picnic tables applauded and cheered as volunteers rose with shorn heads. Mary Amadon, Charlotte Valley elementary gym teacher and volunteer, proposed and organized the head-shaving event, MacCracken said.
Ballet stood on a table to gain the crowd's attention and expressed her family's thanks. ``We are so touched,'' Ballet said.
Organizers said they sold more than 400 meals, which cost $10 per adult, $6 per child and $30 per family. The event also featured an auction of donated merchandise, including a child's Adirondack chair, wine and ornaments. Other contributions included two pigs, chicken and 100 hot dogs, organizers said, with help from churches, school faculty and staff, and others in the community.
Donna Toombs, a Davenport resident who organized the fundraiser, said she called on Davenport Booster Club members and other local residents about six weeks ago to set plans into motion.
``This community is really close-knit,'' she said. ``Everybody chipped in, which made it really nice.''
