Scott Tyler is the man with the $300 head of hair.

Or at least, he was.

Tyler was one of approximately 20 students at Arapahoe Community College’s Law Enforcement Academy to shave their heads March 30 in front of the college’s main building in Littleton to benefit St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The nonprofit organization raises money for children’s cancer research.

In exchange for their vanity, the soon-to-be peace officers asked members of the community to donate to the foundation.

In Tyler’s case, it also took donations from his fellow classmates. Because none of them thought he would willingly part with his locks of light brown hair, the pot soon reached $300. He caved.

“Anything that has to do with charity, I’m all for it,” said Tyler, who mentioned he would have done it for as little as $20 but enjoyed raising a hefty amount.

St. Baldrick’s is a favorite charity of police and fire departments across the country, and that’s why law enforcement student Chad Tausan, 23, was drawn to it. The former volunteer firefighter in Evansville, Wyo., had seen firsthand how much money shaving heads can raise, and presented the idea to his classmates.

“I just asked who would be interested and everyone jumped on board immediately,” Tausan said.

St. Baldrick’s, which takes its name from a combination of “bald” and “St. Patrick’s Day,” began on March 17, 2000, when three Irish-American reinsurance executives in New York City opted to forgo a traditional St. Patrick’s Day party and instead throw a head-shaving benefit for children’s cancer research.

The idea quickly gained momentum and St. Baldrick’s events are now widespread every March 17, as well as on other dates throughout the year. Celebrities who have shaved their heads for St. Baldrick’s include actors Michael Douglas and Jackie Chan, baseball pitcher John Danks and magician David Blaine.

The foundation is so entwined with St. Patrick’s Day, in fact, that Tausan jumped the gun. When he showed up at Arapahoe Community College on March 30, his head was already buzzed from a date with a razor two weeks prior. He decided to shave off his hair again as a show of solidarity with his classmates.

“For all of us to come together and step up and do it, it really shows that we’re more than just the guys who write tickets, more than just the guys who send people to jail,” said Tausan, who bravely went first.

Arapahoe Community College’s Law Enforcement Academy is a Peace Officer Standards and Training-certified program that provides basic training for students pursuing careers as peace officers. Graduation requires 40 completed credit hours, which can be taken either full- or part-time.

A solitary barber manned the clippers as the law enforcement students took their turns saying goodbye to their hair. The length of the event allowed the students to approach passers-by and solicit donations. Individuals interested in making an online donation in the name of the Arapahoe Community College’s Law Enforcement Academy can visit www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/eventid/6614/eventyear/2011.

“What better cause than for childhood cancer?” Tausan said.