When Crissman Elementary teacher Jeanne Ziraldo learned how much students raised for charity, she lost her top - literally.
Ziraldo recently had her hair shaved off in honor of the $2,750 students
raised for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Michigan.
“I thought it was really nice of her and generous,” said sixth grader Olivia Wilson. “I was surprised that she did that.”
This is the first time that Ziraldo has shaved her head to support a cancer fundraiser.
For Ziraldo, the success of the fundraiser is personal. She is a
seven-year cancer survivor and her daughter, Dr. Jessica Zavadil MD – a
2006 Utica Community Schools graduate - is a pediatric resident at a
Children’s Hospital in Missouri.
“I understand how difficult this diagnosis is for a family,” she said.
The Crissman Learning Center teacher kept her promise to students in
front of the entire school at a special assembly where the check was
presented to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation. The
haircutting services were donated by Mrs. Judy Panetta, owner of Flaunt
Salon in Utica, MI, who has two children at Crissman.
Crissman students raised the funds through different activities, as part
of a special Spirit Week. Ziraldo also received donations from her
family and friends.
The funds will be used by the Child Life program to purchase crafts, put
on special activities or support a special ice cream party for the
children with cancer and their families at the hospital.
Ziraldo told students at the Crissman Assembly that she will bring back
photos of the difference their charity has made for children at the
hospital.
“Sometimes the kids are in the hospital for a very long time,” she told
students. “You should be very proud of yourselves. You and your parents
have made a difference.”
