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Broward Students Go Bald For Childhood Cancer Awareness

CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) – If you spot a bunch of Coral Springs high school students sporting a new bald look, it's all for a great cause.

Wednesday afternoon, a group of students JP Taravella High School got their heads shaved as a way to bring awareness and stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer.

"I'm glad that I don't have to go through what they're going through but I'm glad to support them in what they're going through," said one of the students.

Students raised money by asking for donations in exchange for getting a haircut. They raised hundreds of dollars but more importantly for students like Jah-Mya Press—they gave up something precious for someone else.

"I feel really good," said Press. "I feel good about myself."

Press' hair will be sent to a wigmaker to be turned into a wig for a child with terminal cancer. Others, like senior Nick Daspesi, say they sat in the chair after seeing everyone else doing it.

"It feels cool," he said. "You don't have to worry about getting (your hair) ready in the morning and it supports everyone who doesn't have the choice of whether to grow their hair or not."

Some students are getting their heads shaved at school while others will get their locks chopped off at the Classic Salon in Margate.

Many of the kids jumping on the head-shaving bandwagon are part of the charity organization "Kids of Love," a foundation that helps children and families who battle with cancer and other debilitating diseases. The father of the young founder says all this hair on the floor represents sacrifice at its finest.

"I tell people when you see you these young men and women pay it forward without saying what's in it for me, it's really, really good," said the man known as Crazy Ray.

This latest charity drive has raised over $37,000 which goes to finding a cure for childhood cancer.

At 6:30 p.m. all of the students who have shaved their heads will celebrate in support of Childhood Cancer Awareness with a Bald and Brave dinner at the Golden Corral in Peppertree Plaza.

Some of the money that was raised will be used to send kids with cancer to a camp near Gainesville. Organizers are hoping for an even bigger event next year, with several hundred people participating.

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