by STEVE STOLER
WFAA
Posted on November 26, 2012 at 9:43 PM
FRISCO — A Frisco principal says bald is beautiful. And now, he doesn’t have to worry about his hair in the morning.
He made good on a bet with students.
Imani Miller is a dancer. She’s a lieutenant on the Heritage High School drill team. In September, she had a relapse of leukemia. She’s undergoing chemotherapy. Imani is one of two students at Heritage who are battling cancer.
“It’s really hard to wrap your mind around the fact that someone so close to you has been suffering so much,” said Bethany Alexander, Imani’s friend.
Heritage principal Mark Mimms made a promise to his students: If they raised thousands of dollars for a cancer organization, he would shave his head.
“I chose to do this because I want to honor them,” Mimms said. “My hair will grow back.”
In one week, students exceeded the principal’s challenge. They raised $6,600 for Hats Off For Cancer.
“They were coming in, digging the change out of their purses or out of their pockets, and turning it in,” said Jacqueline Hollowell, DECA sponsor.
Students who helped raise money saw the shaving in person. The rest of the school watched it from their classrooms.
“And I think it was an eye opener to the students that there are a lot of students going through a lot worse than they are, and that we need to be appreciative,” said Tannaz Zakeri, Imani’s friend.
News 8 spent some time with Imani Miller. She didn’t feel up to appearing on camera. She’s in remission and must endure two-and-a-half years of chemo treatments. She and her mother told us all the love coming from her school is therapeutic.
“And to know that her friends and her classmates and the teachers and everyone is not only thinking about her, but rallying for her, it means a lot,” Kimberly Miller said. “It’s a huge boost for her, emotionally.”
The kids at school say it’s been a boost for them too, knowing they’re bringing comfort to two classmates, in such a tough time.
E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com
Hats Off For Cancer 
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