St. Baldrick’s fundraiser, haircut set for March 7 in Raleigh
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
When Cameron Batts first heard of a cancer awareness event that included people who signed up to shave their head and raise money for research, she was interested but otherwise preoccupied: Her aunt, Susan Batts Bowers, was undergoing chemotherapy at the time.
Cameron Batts
Flash forward nearly three years later. Cameron once again has close friends personally impacted by cancer. This time, she’s not letting anything get in her way of being involved. The 27-year-old Hamlet transplant and Clayton native will have all 14 inches — plus one or two, depending on who does the measuring — shaved on March 7 in downtown Raleigh.
The event will take place on Glenwood Avenue between Hibernian and Napper Tandy’s. Batts is team captain for the “Hairless Hotties.” The financial services representative for State Employees Credit Union in Richmond County hopes locals will support her efforts. Her fundraising goal is $1,000 for her four-person team.
Batts said a high school friend in Garner who has a 1-year-old son who was just diagnosed with leukemia.
“Some people just don’t get it,” Batts said. “I feel like people looked at (my aunt) funny because she didn’t have any hair on her head. I had wanted to shave my head then (when) my aunt had cancer. She talked me about of it. Now would be the perfect time to do it. I can’t wait.”
In order to raise money, though, Batts knew there’d have to be a draw. It turns out event organizers were already on to something.
“Who wants to watch a girl shave her head?” Batts questioned. The answer was obviously.
“Several people. It’s something that’ll get the attention of others.”
Batts also said the fundraising act, coordinated by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, might raise a 10-year-old question: What’s her nature hair color? Growing up, she said her parents didn’t allow her to experiment with dying her hair. When she turned 18, she rebelled and dyed her hair several times over. Other than going through old school yearbooks, this is the best way to find out, she said.
In fact, her fundraising photo shows her with very dark hair, but when she visited The Pee Dee Post, it was almost a strawberry blonde. Batts said she did that on purpose.
“My natural color’s light,” Batts said. “When I shave it, I didn’t want to look like a cheetah and have spots.”
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