Teen Girl Sheds Locks to Honor Lost Friend

Alyssa Lardi's junior prom date will get over it. He better.

Lardi, a 16-year-old junior at Kings Park High School, stepped up last weekend as the first local high school girl to shave her head at the annual St. Baldrick's fundraiser at The Park Lounge.

Lardi shaved her head in honor of of Lauren Lenardi – a local teen who recently died after a bout with cancer – as well as her aunt and grandmother, both of whom remain in remission.

Lardi and Lenardi played in the middle school band together, where their friendship formed before Lenardi went on to devote much of her time to soccer, which she excelled at on the high school team. Lardi remains close friends with Lauren's sister Holly, and considered Lauren a friend as well despite their different interests in high school. She had planned on participating in the St. Baldrick's cut even before Lenardi's passing.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation, which supports researching childhood cancer, notes that its fundraisers are "an easy and fun way to raise money for a very serious cause—like a walkathon, but without the blisters."

Starting her own one-person team, Lardi had raised $665 before Sunday's event. But witnesses on hand couldn't help but donate to the teen once they saw what she was doing in person: another $1,100 in donations to her poured in at the event itself, raising her total to about $1,800.

Lardi said it was "really quiet" while she was getting her hair cut, though it wasn't her first time getting a chop for charity: in middle school she participated in Locks For Love, cutting 10 inches off.

She says she'll probably do something like Locks of Love again in the future, though in the meantime, with little to cut, she's enjoying the new look.

"It feels pretty cool to be honest," said the teen. "It's kind of nice. I don't have to brush my hair in the morning."