TURNERS FALLS — Peyton Emery has her prom dress picked out, but she isn’t sure what her hair is going to look like when the dance rolls around in May. Not because the Turners Falls High School junior hasn’t selected a style yet, but because she shaved her head in February as part of Sheffield Elementary’s Buzz Off fundraiser.
The elementary school won the One Mission “Buzz Off” when the school and surrounding community raised nearly $17,000 to help the pediatric cancer charity assist families affected by cancer.
Emery and classmate Maya Pezzati, who also shaved her head, raised the most money out of students involved in the program. Emery raised $1,693 and Pezzati raised $1,786.
Turners Falls students who participated in the Buzz Off will be able to attend when New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski visits the school. A visit from “Gronk” is the prize the school received for winning the “Buzz Off.”
Emery said she’s a huge fan of Gronkowski and said she will probably cry at the school’s event. Pezzati said she isn’t a big football fan but was still excited when she found out the school won.
“I felt a lot of school pride,” Pezzati said. “Because as such a small school, that’s a big accomplishment.”
Both girls decided to shave their heads after fourth-graders from Sheffield visited the high school in November and told them about the fundraiser.
Turners Falls Principal Annie Leonard also shaved her head for the Buzz Off. She said she was inspired by the students who chose to participate. Leonard said that a lot of the donations were small and came from all over the community, which makes the win that much more significant.
“I had so much pride that we were able to do this big thing through all these small contributions,” Leonard said.
She was especially surprised by the female students and teachers who chose to shave their heads, and said the decision can be harder for women.
“Middle school and high school girls with long beautiful hair are making this statement and that’s pretty powerful,” Leonard said. “So for me, I can follow, you know, that’s a team I want to be a part of. I can follow that example.”
The two girls agreed but said the choice felt surprisingly easy to make.
“The boys go in there and get a free haircut,” Pezzati said jokingly.
For Emery and Pezzati, the fundraising started immediately. They shared their donation pages with friends and family and across Facebook and encouraged family members to share too, as a way to cast a wider net.
Beyond the excitement of winning, both said that raising money for a pediatric cancer charity has taught them a lot. Pezzati is planning on going to medical school and wants to become a pediatrician and Emery is now looking into neonatal nursing as a career. Becoming involved in an event like this changed their perspectives.
“When we did it people were like ‘I could have never done that,’ but kids with cancer don’t get to decide to lose their hair,” Emery said.
Reach Miranda Davis at
413-772-0261, ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com.