By Andy Simek
TRI-VALLEY — June 5, 2007 — How many hair-stylists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Well, nobody is really sure, but it only takes four to help raise $3,000.
The Tri-Valley Future Farmers of America (FFA), with the aid of four hair-stylists from three salons, held a fund-raiser last Sunday to raise money for Alesha Stehlin, a Tri-Valley senior in need of a liver transplant.
Stehlin has been fighting liver cancer and has received other treatments to help stave off its effects, but ultimately she will need to have the transplant, which, as she put it, “is really expensive.”
That is definitely not an understatement. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) a liver transplant can cost upwards of $315,000 for the first year of treatment.
For approximately a week and a half, Tri-Valley students and faculty were busy collecting donations for Bald For Bucks, a fund-raising organization dedicated to cancer research and treatment. The individuals who raised the most money agreed to shave their heads during Sunday’s event.
Stehlin said of the event, “I really appreciate all of the help. It can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but its really nice of everyone to do this.”
Three salons agreed to donate their time for the cause. Among these was Neversink’s Creative Cutters, Liberty’s Golden Shears and New York City’s Aster Place Salon.
Mary Feusner, Donna Donovan, John Calabrese and Tara Berescik all tied for the top fund-raisers, each coming in at $474 a piece. They joined the other 34 participants at the Tri-Valley school who donated to the cause and got their hair cut.
All in all, the participants raised $2,805 that will go towards the final cost of Alesha’s operation, which is slated to take place sometime after her graduation.
And after that?
“The recovery time from the operation is about a year,” Stehlin said, “but after that I plan on going to school for Farm and Business Management.”