Commack Raises $106,000 for St. Baldrick's

Hundreds of newly, bald heads roamed the Commack High School gymnasium Friday during the fourth Annual St. Baldrick's event, in which residents raise money for childhood cancer research by shaving their hair off to stand in solidarity with children going through chemotherapy.

The event raised a whopping $106,000 for the cause.

"What we're doing is like magic - you can feel it," said Lee Tunick, a math teacher at Commack High School, who has been organizing the event since its inception. "Instead of watching something happen, you're making something happen."

As hundreds of residents, some as young as first grade, lined up to have their heads shaved, there were two who stood out for their bravery - a Commack mother-daughter duo, who both chopped their locks.

Rachel Kantor, a senior at Commack High School, went all the way, shaving her long brown mane into a barely-there crew cut. "Oh my god," she exclaimed while looking at herself for the first time without hair.

"I'm surprised I actually went through with it," she said. "I was playing with it last night thinking about how much I would miss it, but I thought to myself that a little girl out there with cancer is thinking the same thing," she said. 

Her bravery is what inspired her mother, Ilyse to cut her curls as well and donate her hair to Locks of Love. "I thought if she could do this, I can at least support my daughter. I'm very proud of her," she said.

Another inspiring story came from Larry Boritz, owner of United Studios Of Self Defense in Commack. A cancer survivor, Boritz shaved his head once again to support the cause. He also brought along a team of karate students to join in the event.

"I'm a cancer survivor myself so I practice what I preach," he said. Now 12 years of being cancer free, Boritz said that events such as St. Baldrick's have a huge impact on him. "You appreciate things more," he said while sporting his new, bald look.

His wife, Leslie Boritz, who is an assistant principal at Commack High School, said that she is incredibly proud of what has been accomplished.

"To conquer cancer is a dream," she said. "To know that you can do a little bit to express passion for having a cancer-free world - emotionally, it touches your heart."