At 10 years old, Richie Watson has done more fundraising than many adults. The Bayville Intermediate School fourth-grader has been fundraising for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for four years. This year, he raised $2,225 for the charity that supports research for childhood cancers.
Watson participated in the St. Baldrick’s head-shaving challenge for the fourth time, shaving his beautiful hair off and proudly displaying his almost-bald head to the crowd at the annual event at the Downtown Café in Glen Cove. Watson was among the top five fundraisers out of more than 100 participants. Friends and family sponsored him with donations to support his bravery. More than 1,300 head-shaving events take place across the country raising money to help cure childhood cancers.
Watson said that a child he saw at the St. Baldrick’s event he attended four years ago was an inspiration for his fundraising efforts.
“He had cancer and he died two years later,” he said. “I wanted to do something to help him.”
Through bake sales, requests to family members and the sale of rubber bracelets, this year’s totals were significantly more than the $1,395 that Watson raised last year.
“It makes me feel so good,” he said. “You just feel right when you donate all of that money.”
During the past four years, he has raised a cumulative $5,844.
