Burbank mom keeps her word, loses her hair after her kids raise money for a good cause
Joanna Peresie with her children Ella, left, and Benjamin, right, at their Burbank home on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
Setting up a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer research is nothing new for the Peresie family.
Last year, Ella Peresie organized a lemonade stand fundraiser and donated the money to cancer research in memory of 12-year-old Burbank resident Christopher Wilke, who passed away in 2014 after being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct.
Ella was classmates with Christopher’s brother.
So when she heard last month that her 7-year-old cousin Noah Cross was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, she and her brother, Ben, dusted off the lemonade stand to raise money for their cousin, who lives in Virginia.
Even before the fundraiser, which was held on June 12, the Peresie siblings started accepting donations from family and friends.
“This is not something new or out of character for my kids,” said Joanna Peresie, Ella and Ben Peresie’s mother. “I just kind of got lucky with those two, I guess.”
Joanna Peresie before and after her haircut.
After Noah was diagnosed, his classmates opted to get buzz cuts as a sign of solidarity. Joanna Peresie said she was moved by what those children in Virginia did for her nephew, and it led her to an idea.
“I told them that if they could raise $1,000, I would get a buzz cut,” Joanna Peresie said.
Joanna Peresie’s children did not just raise $1,000, they collected more than $3,200 in about 10 days, which includes the money from the lemonade stand.
Joanna Peresie admitted that she did not expect her children to get close to the amount she set. She and her husband thought their children would raise close to $500, recollecting that the kids collected about $300 last year during their fundraiser for Christopher.
“So I told my husband that my friends are really loving, caring and generous, but they’re also just a little bit evil and I think they would definitely pony up some money to see if I would really get a buzz cut,” she said. “Sure enough, they did.”
After selling lemonade and treats in their neighborhood, Joanna Peresie kept her promise. With help from Tammy Talbot, owner of Crowning Glory Hair Studio in Burbank, her blonde, shoulder-length hair was shaved off in front of her family, friends and neighbors.
Joanna Peresie with a shaved head at her Burbank home on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Peresie promised to cut her hair if her children raised more than $1,000 at a lemonade stand/bake sale fundraiser for a nephew from Virginia who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Her children raised $3,400.
“I thought maybe we’ll do a four or a five [guide size] on the clipper to leave something fun, maybe not all the way to my bare scalp,” Joanna Peresie said with a laugh. “But she put the No. 1 guard on there and took it all off. It’s gone. There’s no hair.”
The freshly shaved hair was then collected and will be donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss, Joanna Peresie said.
She said she has never shaved her head before and is getting used to the looks from strangers as she goes about her daily routine.
“The biggest adjustment is getting used to not requiring shampoo,” she said. “The first morning after, I got in the shower and I put a handful of shampoo on the top of my head and there was nothing there to catch it.”
At the end of the day, Joanna Peresie does not regret her decision and is proud to stand in solidarity with her nephew and to have such caring children and neighbors.
“The stand was Ben and Ella’s idea, but it wasn’t just Ben and Ella who made it a success,” she said. “We received donations and support from friends, neighbors and people we’ve never even met. There is absolutely no way that day would have been as successful as it was if not for the kindness and generosity of our community.”
To donate money for Noah Cross’ cause, visit www.gofundme.com/noahcross.
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
