by Leith Hillard, CFA Public Affairs
Geelong City fire station turned into a hair salon recently when a number of firefighters took part in the World’s Greatest Shave. The annual fundraising event for the Leukaemia Foundation saw hairdressing students arrive with clippers for a day of shaving and hair colouring.
The brigade has been personally touched by leukaemia with a friend of firefighter Mark Hilderbrandt and a daughter of a Region officer both fighting the disease.
“The most important thing was to raise as much money as we could and just get involved,” Mark says. “A few of us get involved in Movember too. We’ve got a public face and it’s good to support good causes and raise money in the process.”
The money raised will directly support patients and their families, and provide them with a home-away-from-home near their hospital during their treatment. Funds will also go towards transporting patients to appointments and other forms of practical assistance, as well as cancer research.
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CFA's Manager Facilities Planning, Abe Paluch, also has a family touched by cancer. His wife has fought the disease for a number of years and daughter Lee-Ronn was determined to raise money to help people like her mother - by shaving off her signature long, curly hair.
“I’m giving the money I raise to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre,” Lee-Ronn says. “Peter Mac does excellent work in research and education as well as providing holistic patient care. I’ve chosen to direct 100% of the funds to palliative care. In the past few months, I have grown to appreciate the importance of end of life care for cancer patients.”
Lee-Ronn will donate her hair to an overseas company that makes hairpieces for children who have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy or due to alopecia.
It’s estimated that about 100,000 people across the country shaved or dyed their hair for the World’s Greatest Shave.
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Currently, more than 30,000 Australians are living with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma. Sadly, only four out of ten adults survive.
To visit the World’s Greatest Shave website, visit:
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