AMANDA Doidge’s hair will go grow back, but for many others they don’t have a choice.
The 21-year-old from Cohuna shaved her head in front of family and friends recently as part of the Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave.
“I feel like I needed to do something to help,” she said.
“My hair will grow back, but a lot other people don’t get a choice in that matter.”
Some of those people were close to Miss Doidge, the main reason for clipping her gleaming brunette head of hair that sat half-way down her back.
“I first signed up to the shave last year in memory of my nan, Yvonne, who passed away in 2007. Then last year I met a lady at the caravan park where I was working at the time. Her daughter was seven at the time and was battling leukaemia and that really pushed me to raise as much as I could. I’ve kept in contact with her since,” she said.
Today 34 Australians will be given the devastating news that they have leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma, and they’ll turn to the Leukaemia Foundation for help.
Although survival rates are improving, blood cancers are the third biggest cause of cancer death in Australia, according to the foundation.
Miss Doidge’s selfless act has raised close to $7000, which will go toward research to discover more effective treatments.
“My goal was to raise $5000. I set out a plan that if I raised $500 I would dye my hair bright pink; if I raised $1000 I would cut my hair super short and if I reached the magic number of $5000 or more I would shave it all off,” she said.
The latter would prove the community’s generosity, with a Statewide goal to raise $3.6 million.
Miss Doidge said the public shave at Factory and Field brought together her closest family and friends for an afternoon of tears of sadness and laughter.
Proceeds from a barbecue and raffles went to the community’s unparalleled effort.
Miss Doidge promised to re-grow her hair for the 2017 shave, but not before 12,410 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer and rely on such fund-raising efforts.
“This was my first shave, but I don’t think it will be my last,” she said.
“I think people in small communities are so generous because we are all so close. Everyone knows someone therefore it’s like dominoes; if something like cancer happens, it affects everyone.
“Small communities are like big families.”
Similar shave fund-raisers were held across the district, including at Kerang Technical High School, when teacher, David McTaggart shaved his grey mop of hair.
