KINGSTON, R.I., — March 3, 2017 — University of Rhode Island student and cancer survivor Ian Kanterman decided last year to have some fun while raising money for cancer research. So, he worked with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to hold URI’s first Brave the Shave event.

After great success last year, Brave the Shave is returning to the Kingston Campus Monday, March 6 at the Memorial Union, 50 Lower College Road, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Now studying in France for a year, Kanterman passed the torch to Garrett Palmer and Vincent Evola, both communication studies majors, to organize the 2017 event. We asked Evola a few questions about the 2017 edition.

What is the Brave the Shave event?

“Brave the Shave is the slogan for several St. Baldrick’s events around the nation. Ian saw the term and loved the saying and thought the event would be great for URI. He didn’t want this to be any boring head shaving event, he wanted it to be exciting. Brave the Shave is a culture we have adopted here. We are always all in to shave our heads and rock the bald.”

What is the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the organization that originally created this event ?

“St. Baldrick’s is a charity organization in which participants shave their heads or volunteer and help raise money to help find a cure for childhood cancer. I have been involved with this organization for almost 10 years, and it is so great. I couldn’t imagine working with a better organization.”

How can students and the URI community participate ?

“Anyone can join simply by going to stbaldricks.org, searching the University of Rhode Island and then just signing up. It is very easy and I hope everyone comes out to join us in finding a cure for childhood cancer.”

How was the event last year and what are your expectations for this year ?

“The event last year went far better than anyone expected. We shattered expectations. We had 150 “shavees” and we raised $20,000. I think it is very hard to follow up something like that. You can definitely feel the pressure of trying to out perform last year. We just want to keep doing better. I think the most important thing is that we, as a community, keep in mind that we still made a difference. We can all make a difference one head shaved at a time.

Are you going to “brave the shave” yourself ?

“I have been doing this since I was in 6th grade, I love it. I am going to Brave the Shave as I have every year. I couldn’t imagine not shaving my head for such a cause. I can’t wait to see URI Rock the Bald.”

Sarah Saltiel-Ragot, an international student from Sciences Po Rennes in France and an intern in URI’s Department of Marketing and Communications, wrote this press release.