Students and instructors at Gurnee school raise money for St. Baldrick's Foundation

The sound of buzzing barber clippers filled the student lounge Tuesday at Computer Systems Institute in Gurnee, as the school held its inaugural St. Baldrick's Foundation event to benefit childhood cancer research.

About a dozen students and teachers raised money for the foundation while being shorn by master barbers Cornelius Booth and Robert Vaughn from The Bottom Line Barber Shop in Gurnee.

"We've hosted charity events here before on campus, and as we were getting closer to St. Patrick's Day, I thought, why don't we run the St. Baldrick's event," said Megan McCracken, president of the Gurnee campus. "It's our very first one. Seventy percent of our students are in medical assisting programs, so we thought we'd try to reach out to them in supporting childhood cancer,"

Jonny Hooten, 12, of Gurnee, said he had a personal reason for getting head shaved.

"The reason I'm here is that so many people I know have been diagnosed with cancer, so I thought, why not?," he said.