St Joseph’s College Toowoomba students shave head, raise money for Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave | Event photo gallery
More than 20 students and two staff members have donated their locks and raised a combined total of nearly $40,000 to help find a cure for blood cancer. Check out our mega photo gallery from the day here.
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Tears were shed and laughs bellowed on the grounds of St Joseph’s College when 23 students and two staff members cut their hair or shaved their heads in an emotionally charged ceremony.
The special event was led by the school’s Interact Club to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation through the World’s Greatest Shave.
Among the brave souls who said goodbye to their long locks were Charlie Kruger, Emily Chandler and Meghan Ellis, who all opted for the full shave.
Seventeen-year-old Emily raised the highest amount as an individual and almost half of the grand total, surpassing the $10,000 mark on Wednesday.
At the young age of four, the high school senior and Interact president was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia – a rare, fast-growing and the most fatal type of blood cancer.
Reflecting on her own diagnosis which she received when she was only four-years-old, Emily said she hoped to raise awareness for the cause and pay it forward.
“When I was sick, my whole family had to move to Brisbane and live in the Ronald McDonald House,” she said.
“The money raised will not only help fund this accommodation but also research to ultimately find a cure.
“We have all these people from all different age groups wanting to get behind this cause and bring some good to the world.”
Meanwhile, Charlie, 17, said his decision to take part in the heartfelt campaign was to pay tribute to his late friend and teammate Jake Simpson.
Mr Simpson battled Ewing’s sarcoma but tragically passed away as a result of the form of bone cancer in early 2016, at the young age of 22.
In addition to the legacy Mr Simpson left behind at Willowburn Football Club, he also rose to fame when he created a bucket list after receiving his diagnosis.
The list included flying over Toowoomba in a helicopter, speed dating and doing 100 good deeds.
“I’m doing this for someone who sadly is no longer with us,” Charlie said.
“Jake was the epitome of everything our footy club represents and when he passed away, it was a very hard time for everyone.
“He really would have wanted us to remember him in the best way we could, so I want this to serve as a special tribute for him.”
While Charlie has had a number of buzz cuts in his time, the Toowoomba student said he had never had a haircut performed in front of an audience before.
Participant Meghan Ellis, 14, said she believed the fundraising efforts would help future generations through efforts to find a cure.
“We had a family friend who had leukaemia, and I know that was a really tough time for them and their family,” she said.
“My best friend will be shaving my head today so it’s amazing to have that support.”
Despite feeling apprehensive about how her head would handle the cold temps for the remainder of August, Meghan said she had a large collection of beanies.
The school community had raised more than $30,000 on Thursday, with the total set to continue rising, surpassing and almost doubling last year’s total.
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