Local Hair Stylist Breaks Fundraising Goal of $30K

NEWTOWN SQUARE–After losing her mother to scleroderma five years ago, Newtown Square hair stylist Christy McCaffrey set out to found a project to make people aware of the autoimmune disorder.

And she has already accomplished one goal: Project Scleroderma broke its $30,000 fundraising goal by Tuesday morning.

At 11:59 p.m., Monday, May 28, the deadline for the fundraising, Project Scleroderma raised $32,320—that's $2,320 more than its original goal of $30,000.

"We chose this type of fundraising because we simply cannot continue production without a minimum of $30,000," McCaffrey, a resident of Havertown and a hair stylist at Nicholas Sebastian Hair Salon, said in a last week.

The goal of the project is to help people become aware of the autoimmune disorder, as stated in a video (Note: video can be considered graphic).

"... The Scleroderma Research Foundation and director/producer Bob Saget will lend their expertise to help make this video even more powerful for patients and bring awareness to this urgent need for a cure," said McCaffrey, a hair stylist at in Newtown Square.

McCaffrey's mother Sandy Selfridge was 58 when it was discovered that she had scleroderma.

"She was diagnosed in April of 2009 with scleroderma and passed away just a few months later in September of 2009," her daughter explained.

To find out more about Project Scleroderma, visit www.projectscleroderma.com.