It’s a hair-raising fundraiser

The roar of cheering students drowned out the buzz of the electric

hair clippers being used to shave John Muir Middle School Principal

Dan Hacking’s bright pink hair into a Mohawk Wednesday at the

school’s Family Fun Night.

Hacking had agreed to have his hair shaved and styled into a

colored Mohawk if students raised $2,500 for the Red Cross to help

Hurricane Katrina Victims. Assistant Principal David Cole agreed to

join him if the students raised more than $3,000. Students raised a

grand total of $12,500.

“We didn’t realize it was going to take on this kind of life,”

Hacking said. “It’s driven students to go above and beyond and its

been pretty remarkable how they responded and the kind of things

they’ve done.”

Hacking pretended to cry when he saw the shade of neon pink the

cheering students chose for his new hair-do. Students selected the

school’s color, green, for Cole.

“Well I’m new to the school, I guess I’m being initiated into John

Muir culture,” Cole said.

Cole didn’t mind getting the new haircut because he was so

impressed students’ overwhelming response to the challenge.

“I think it’s great,” Cole said. “It shows that they have big

hearts. You got to love the kids, they don’t debate the politics of

things, when people need help, they just want to jump in.”

Students did a variety of things raise the money, including

dancing for donations in front of the AMC theater and going door to

door in their neighborhoods.

Seventh-grader Jessica Murphy, who ran a lemonade stand with

several friends, said that regardless of whether Hacking and Cole had

their heads shaved, it was important for students to help out

hurricane victims in any way they could.

“It’s destroyed everything they have,” said Jessica, 12. “We have

so much and they have so little.”

The school’s Associated Student Body advisor, Marcia Reily, who

helped come up with the Mohawk idea, was pleased with the students’

strong response.

“What impresses me most is all the different ways in which they

found to raise the money,” she said. “Sometimes hearing these stories

it’s hard not to tear up and cry, it’s amazing how much time and

effort they put into it.”

Parents were also glad to have a way to help out.

“Sometimes in disasters you feel like you can’t do anything,” said

Janet Sparling, whose daughter, Mariah Bevard, attends the school.

“But the kids loved it and it made the parents happy too because we

had to had a place to put our money toward.”

Jill Valenti, the chairmen of the Red Cross for the Greater Los

Angeles Chapter accepted a check Wednesday evening.

“The people who receive it will feel all the love that goes with

it,” she told students.

Burbank High School Principal Bruce Osgood emceed the event and

told students that seeing Hacking and Cole with their Mohawks would

be a constant reminder of the work they’d done to raise the money.

“You deserve to see these two guys have their heads shaved because

of the fantastic work you’ve done,” said Osgood, who also noted that

Cole’s new haircut made him to resemble rock star David Bowie.

Students were ultimately very pleased with the administrators’ new

hair styles, and chanted Hacking’s name as the bright pink dye was

applied to his freshly cut Mohawk.

“It’s awesome,” said eighth-grader Anahid Kurdyan. “We see him

everyday and he wears a tie and a nice shirt. Now we get to see him

wearing a Mohawk. It’s going to be weird.”