A close shave for a good cause

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PLAINFIELD — With several ponytails shooting out in different directions, Keri Travalik sat in the barber’s chair in front of her peers at Plainfield North High School as they cheered her name.

“I’m kind of nervous now,” said Keri, 18, who would be the first female at the school to shave her head to support childhood cancer research for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

At first, hair stylist Beth Beaumont cut each ponytail so it could be donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths in order to create a wig for cancer patients.

Keri ran her hands through her short hair.

“It feels so weird,” she said as she held blondish-brown locks in a plastic bag.

“All my hair is gone. My heart is just beating 500 miles an hour. I just can’t wait to get the clippers onto my hair and feel how that feels because this is just insane,” she said during Friday’s pep rally at school.

Keri was one of about 80 people who shaved their heads during the Plainfield North High School’s third annual St. Baldrick’s event held at the school’s pep rally and at the boys varsity basketball game. There were also girls who cut and donated their hair to charity.

In total, students raised about $16,900 for St. Baldrick’s.

“I am so proud of our kids and the Plainfield community rising up to the occasion,” said Marina Kosak, dean of students at Plainfield North.

This year, they raised money for Maxwell, 4, of Plainfield, who recently went into remission. He was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 1 year old.

As Keri waited for the shaving to begin, she admitted she didn’t think she would be able to make her goal.

If she raised $5,000, her parents, Jim and Adina Travalik, would let her shave her head. If she didn’t make the goal, she would cut her hair very, very short, donating it to a charity.

With less than 24 hours to go, she was short about $1,185.

Keri and her friends knocked on doors, asking for support.

Keri didn’t make her goal until 11 p.m. Thursday.

“It is one of my sister’s good friends, Rob Casanova. He’s just a great guy. He gave me $100 to put me over online. It’s awesome,” she said.

“She worked real hard at that point. … I wanted to make sure she got it,” Rob said.

But before reaching her goal of $5,000 online, John and Pam Jackson gave her a check to help her make the $5,000 mark in total between cash and online donations.

“I pretty much dropped on the floor that I actually did it,” Keri said of her grand total, which was over $5,300.

Josh Moore, 18, a senior, who went door-to-door with Keri, said once people found out a girl wanted to shave her head for cancer research they went inside to find some change.

“I think what she did was really amazing and not many girls would really do this at all,” Josh said. “We helped her reached her goal. We are all happy for her right now.”

The shaving

Then, it was time for the shave to begin and Keri was shaking.

“It feels so weird,” Keri said. “This is so weird!”

She ran around the gym so students could feel her bald head.

Beaumont, who shaved Keri’s hair, admits she was a bit nervous.

“I’ve done this a couple of times. This is the first girl I’ve ever shaved completely bald. I was a little nervous for her and for myself because I know that’s a big step. I know it was for an awesome cause,” she said.

Assistant Principal Ross Draper also had his head shaved because students surpassed their goal of $12,500.

Adina admits she was worried about Keri shaving her head because some folks who didn’t know her daughter would think she was being rebellious rather than knowing she shaved her head for a good cause.

Keri was ecstatic that she made her goal.

“If I could thank every person in person I would,” she said. “I’m still shaking.”

Her friend, Gabby Chapman, 15, was crying for Keri

“I love it. It looks really good. I was crying because she is a big influence as a role model,” Gabby said.

Sam Wright, 16, a junior, wrote on her arm that she was a Keri T fan.

“We are all really proud of her. I donated as much as I could,” she said.

As the gym emptied out, Keri kept touching her head.

“It’s fun to play with. It’s fun to touch,” she said. “I feel amazing right now. My head is a little cold. It’s a little chilly. I can’t stop feeling my head. I feel great.”

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