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Shave for a
Cure
For three Mount Gambier residents this winter may be a
little colder than expected and it’s not because they
haven’t paid their heating bills.
Taking years to grow and only minutes to lose, their locks
were lopped all in the name of charity as part of the
Leukemia Foundation’s “World’s Greatest Shave”.
In front of a crowd of 150 family, friends and community
members, Fiona Pearson, Andrew Simpson and Nicky Jellesma
decided to “shave it off” and get involved in the event
after their lives had each been touched in some way by
cancer.
After three months of fundraising the ‘FAN Mount Gambier
team’ hoped to raise $3000, instead they pulled in a
staggering $7500 from the shave and expect the final figure
to go even higher as donations continue to come in.
Mrs Jellesma, who grew her hair for over two years for the
event was the first to go under the clippers of hairdressers
Emily and Alison, from My Style Haircare who also donated
their time and skills to the cause.
With long locks falling half way down her back, Mrs Jellesma
was more than happy to donate her hair to the Princess
Charlotte Alopecia Foundations, Tresses for Princesses
campaign.
The foundation raises awareness of alopecia – a condition
that results in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere
on the body. One of the initiatives of the foundation is to
receive donations of human hair which will later be turned
into wigs for children.
“To know that my hair will be made into a beautiful wig and
to be able to give my hair to someone who has none is such a
rewarding experience,” Mrs Jellsema said.
Showing her true colours, Ms Person dyed her hair for the
event and gave her close friends the opportunity to use the
clippers for extra cash helping to shave her head.
As clumps of hair fell to the floor Ms Person tried hard to
hold back the tears as she remembered family and friends who
had lost their battle with cancer.
Also facing the chop was Mr Simpson who decided to take part
in the charity drive after losing his father to cancer.
Supporting a woolly coat, Mr Simpson prepared for the event
by not shaving and decided to have his face also go under
the razor on the night, much to the delight of his partner
Jodie who was happy to have him back to normal.
Their baldness and courage also inspired Andrew’s brother
Scott to lose his locks on the night raising a further $400.
Overwhelmed by the support and generosity of the community
of Mount Gambier and surrounding dis trict,
Mrs Jellesma thanked all those who supported the shave.
“The whole experience has been very humbling and we are in
awe of the generosity of everyone who supported us both
through financial donations and words of encouragement and
support.”
“We would like to publicly thank all our sponsors whom
without their generosity we would not have been able to
raise this significant amount,” Mrs Jellesma said
All money raised for the event will go to the Leukaemia
Foundation to support treatment of patients and research
into a cure.
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