Students go bald in solidarity with leukemia patient, 8

When the cancer returned and his treatments resumed, the hair again began falling out of Jake Amato's head.

His best friend and his second-grade teacher said they were going to shave their heads in solidarity with Jake, 8, who has been battling leukemia for four years.

Jake's classmates thought his teacher, Valerie Hecht, was kidding. But Thursday morning, there she was in Room 110, smiling broadly and proclaiming loudly, "Mrs. Hecht is gonna be bald," as a razor chopped off her shoulder-length hair.

Then she looked at Jake.

"Jake, it's only hair. Right, babe?" she said playfully.

Jake, who was fiddling with a mirror, walked over to show his teacher her new look.

Hecht, 57, and about 20 of Jake's schoolmates at Northside Elementary in Farmingdale cut their hair and shaved their heads in honor of Jake, who returned to school Thursday - three weeks after beginning another round of radiation and chemotherapy to battle the disease that has spread to his optic nerves and bone marrow.

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"I feel really happy that they all decided to shave their heads," Jake said. "I feel really supported."

Jake is one of 3,500 children diagnosed each year with childhood leukemia, a rare blood and marrow disorder that results in decreased production of red blood cells and platelets.

Jake was 4 when he was diagnosed, and battled the disease for more than three years before going into remission in January. On June 2, the day after he played second base in a Little League baseball game - his dream is to someday play for the Mets - his family got word the cancer was back.

"We have a very rough road ahead of us," said his father, Ken, 47, a city firefighter.

Thursday, Jake's classmates donned hats and T-shirts reading "Team Jake: Don't Stop Believing," and lined up before four hairdressers standing at cutting stations.

One of Jake's best friends, Kyle Stamm, 8, one of the first boys to shave his head, said he did it to make Jake feel more comfortable with his newly bald scalp.

"He already went through it," Kyle said. "At least now he's not the only one."

Liliana Alesi, 7, cut about 5 inches of her hair. "I did it for my friend Jake," she said as the hairdresser finished her new 'do. "I wanted to make him feel better."

Two other adults joined the group in getting shorn: Hecht's husband, Mark, 53, and Ken Amato, who walked up to his son afterward, knelt down and gave him a fist bump.

The ponytails of three girls whose hair was long enough were donated to Locks of Love, the nonprofit organization that supplies hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. The rest of the recycled hair will be sent to Matter of Trust, a nonprofit that uses human hair to make booms for use in helping clean the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Jake's older brother, Kenny, a fourth-grader at Northside who also had Hecht as a teacher, shaved his head along with three classmates. The Amatos hope Kenny will be a bone marrow match for the transplant Jake requires. If not, the family will begin sifting through donor databases.

After the haircuts, Jake's classmates presented him with a laptop purchased with funds they had raised to allow him to videoconference their classroom next year during his post-transplant hospital recovery, whenever that happens.

How to donate hair

 Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who have undergone long-term medical hair loss, reportedly has said it donates 300 to 400 hairpieces each year, retailing at $3,500 to $6,000 each. 

-- Measured tip to tip, 10 inches is the minimum length needed for a hairpiece.  

-- Hair must be bundled in a ponytail or braid. 

-- Hair must be bleach-free, although dyed and permed hair is accepted. 

-- Hair must be completely dry and clean. 

-- Place the braid or ponytail into a plastic bag and inside a padded envelope and mail to Locks of Love, 234 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL 33405-2701. 

-- Shorter hair will be separated from ponytails and sold to offset manufacturing costs. 

-- More information is available at www.locksoflove.org. 

Matter of Trust, a nonprofit whose Gulf Spill Hair Boom Program is collecting hair to make booms to soak up oil in the Gulf Coast area, has amassed enough clippings to make 25 miles of boom. Ten miles have already been made by more than 600 volunteers. 

-- Hair of any length is allowed. 

-- Put all hair clippings, preferably clean, into a garbage bag. Tie the garbage bag and put it in a box marked DEBRIS FREE HAIR. 

-- Visit website (www.matteroftrust.org) to be given a donation location to which the hair will be mailed.