By: centraljersey.com
Bryan Fisher, Paul Hamnett and Kurt Wayton are all parents of young children.
The three West Windsor-Plainsboro High coaches/teachers are also good friends. And the three have joined together to form an alliance they hope brings some awareness and necessary funds to research for childhood cancer.
Fisher, Hamnett and Wayton are raising money for childhood cancer research by growing beards and their hair over a six-month stretch, and then having it all shaved off on March 12. The trio started the quest in October and have already raised more than $2,000 toward their goal of raising $5,000.
"I’ve had two or three colleagues at South who every year we try to do something different to raise money for charity," said Fisher, who coaches the varsity boys soccer and girls lacrosse teams, as well as the freshmen boys basketball team at South. "Last year we raised money for the earthquake victims in Haiti. The year before that we did Thanksgiving and holiday baskets for HomeFront. Every year we do something. This year I asked Kurt and Paul to grow beards and grow out our hair to raise money for children’s cancer research."
Fisher and Wayton have been sporting their heavy beards for the past couple of months. Hamnett was not as successful at the beard aspect, but has had much better luck growing out his hair than his two partners.
"I usually cut my hair once a month at the beginning of the month," said Hamnett, the boys and girls swim coach at South. "But the last time I cut my hair was October 4th. So by the time we’re finished it will have been six months. For me, I’ve never had my hair this long before.
"The last couple of weeks people have started in with some jokes and I have been told I look like a lot of interesting characters, from Elvis to John Travolta."
All three are happy to do whatever they can to help raise money. The trio have set up a website for donations (www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/teamid/68215) and on March 12 at Amalfi’s Restaurant in Lawrenceville will have their beards and heads shaved.
"Last year they had over 100 people and raised $65,000," Fisher said. "St. Baldrick’s brings in a barber and they shave your beard and they shave your head. We have a website and people can make a donation. Our original goal was to raise $2,000, but we cleared that in the first two weeks. So we’ve raised our goal to $5,000."
Added Wayton: "I can’t think of anything more worthwhile as a charity. For me it was a no-brainer. There is nothing that I can do that would be too large to benefit this charity. For Bryan and myself, being follicly challenged as we are, we don’t have much sympathy for Paul. We’ve gotten comments from the kids at school, but once they realize what you’re doing the kids are happy that we’re doing something to help."
With all three having pre-school age children, the thought of young children with childhood cancer hits close to home. And for Hamnett, it hits even closer to home.
"I found out in October that a cousin of mine, his 4-year-old came down with brain cancer," Hamnett said. "I was already planning to do this, but that was the jump start I needed to really get me going. It’s only hair. It’s helping a good cause and it hits a little closer to home for me because of my cousin.
"I have young children myself and I can’t even fathom having to go through what my cousin goes through. We all coach in the long, dark winter so we thought we should do something. I did try growing the beard but that didn’t really go well. I’ll wind up with the goatee and a bushy head of hair."
Being parents makes this a cause all three jumped into without hesitation.
"I think because all three of us are relatively new to the parent field, this was something we could certainly relate to," Wayton said. "You know childhood cancer is horrible. What could be more tragic than children suffering from a potentially fatal disease?
"As teachers and coaches we want to work with kids and make them do great things. But at the end of the day it’s about their health. Once you become a parent you realize the miracle of healthy children. Any parent who has to deal with a terminally ill child is going through something I could never even imagine. It’s something I realized before I had a child of my own, but it is magnified once you have your own child. You just want them to be healthy."
The three WW-P South coaches will be taking donations on the website right through the day of the shaving. It’s the latest in a long line of charitable causes the group has undertaken.
"Erik Daniels and I spearhead a charity effort and a lot of times we would do it with Brian Welsh," Fisher said. "We gather people together and try to do something different each year. Ultimately, we try to get a positive message to the kids and do something positive for the community."
To make a donation to the team’s efforts, visit the website at www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/teamid/68215. The team name is WW-P South.

