80 students shave heads in heartwarming show of support for classmate with cancer

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Eighty elementary school students in Broomfield, Colorado, are warming hearts after they shaved their heads in solidarity with a classmate who has cancer.

According to "Today," 9-year-old Marlee Pack recently returned to Meridian Elementary School a year after she was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the connective tissues. Eager to show her support, Marlee's best friend, Cameron McLaughlin, wanted to donate her hair – all of it.

"When Cameron told Marlee she was thinking about shaving her head, Marlee got a huge smile on her face and said, 'We can be baldy besties together!' " Cameron's mother, Cheray McLaughlin, told "Today."

But Cameron wasn't the only one who wanted to help. Last month, 80 students, three teachers, two principals and one student's mom had their heads shaved in Marlee's honor at the school's "Be Bold, Be Brave, Go Bald" event, spearheaded by Cheray McLaughlin and teacher Jody Hempelmann. They raised more than $25,000 for St. Baldrick's Foundation, "a volunteer-powered charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers," according to its website.

Marlee was touched by the actions of her friends and teachers.

"I didn't think that many people would shave their heads, but I feel good about going back to school and not being the only bald one," she told "Today."

Cox Media Group