Lessons Learned

LESSONS LEARNED Rock

Bob the

By Drew Gieseke | photos by richard Nichols

For more than a decade, members of the St. Joseph’s Academy community have grown out their hair and then gathered to cheer as it’s cut off.

This year, more than 25 students, faculty, staff and alumni donated locks to support Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit organization that provides human hair replacements at no cost to children and young adults facing medically related hair loss. Dubbed “SJA Rocks the Bob,” the biennial event is led by the young people who make up the student body at St. Joseph’s, a Catholic college preparatory high school in Frontenac for girls.

“As with almost all of our campus ministry programming, this event is student-driven,” says Anna Hotop, director of campus ministry at St. Joseph’s. “Our Angels work to plan and implement SJA Rocks the Bob by coming up with creative ways to educate our student body on the organization we donate to and encourage and support their peers to donate.”

In addition to planning the project and prepping for the event, students dedicate time during campus ministry sessions to measure ponytails in the days leading up to the event. This work before the event helps give potential donors a better idea of how many inches they’d like to give away, keeping in mind that all hair donations should be 8-plus inches.

Hundreds of participants have donated hair since the event’s launch in 2009. SJA Rocks the Bob kicks off on what’s traditionally known as St. Joe Day. The entire school of 570 students and 80 faculty celebrates its namesake patron saint with festivities of all kinds, including the hair donation event in the morning.

This year, Molly Dressel, a member of the class of 2023, spoke at the beginning of the event about receiving a wig for herself, and Hotop says that her impactful words inspired hesitant students to donate. The speech set the tone for another successful Rocks the Bob.

“There is definitely a flurry of activity during the haircutting – a lot of cheering going on, friends coming up to show support for someone donating their hair, last-minute donors jumping out of their seats,” Hotop says. “We have volunteers measuring hair on the sidelines and hair stylists who have come in to donate their time cutting.”

Amid the before-and-after photo shoots, raucous cheering and other activity, Hotop admits that the charitable event more closely resembles a pep rally. It’s this spirit of giving and community that propels St. Joseph’s, which is motivated by its motto of “Not I, But We” – a phrase which Hotop says is “derived from the call of the Sisters of St. Joseph to ‘serve the Dear Neighbor without distinction.’”

“Our students are challenged to recognize that they are a vital part of a community, here at school, but also of a larger community outside this building,” she says. “It’s not just about the needs of one individual, but what we can do to help others. Each day, the St. Joe student is called to live out ‘Not I, But We’ in all aspects of her life.” ln St. Joseph’s Academy, 2307 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, 314-394-4300, sja1840.org

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Congratulations to Wendy Kickham for being named to the Forbes “America ’ s Top Women Wealth Advisors ” 2022 list and the Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ” 2022 list.

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Wendy Kickham, CRPC® Senior Vice President Senior Financial Advisor 636.537.4587

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Source: The 2022 Forbes “America’ s Top Women Wealth Advisors” list, February 4, 2022. Data provided by SHOOK® Research, LLC. Data as of 9/30/21. Forbes.com (February, 2022). America’ s Top Women Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client impact, industry experience, review of best practices and compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC. Data provided by SHOOK® Research, LLC. Data as of 6/30/21. Source: Forbes.com (April, 2022). Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual, and telephone due diligence meetings to measure best practices; also considered are: client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. Rankings are based on the opinions of Forbes and not representative nor indicative of any one client’s experience, future performance, or investment outcome and should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com. SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value