Tom Gannon
Axella Johannesson, Ian Virtue, Kath Osborne, Kazz Whimpey and Martin Taylor will all take part in Shave For A Cure at Traralgon’s Grand Junction Hotel on Sunday, May 2 at 2.30pm to raise funds and awareness for the Leukaemia Foundation.
Each has their own personal reason for participating in the shave, having experienced cancer themselves or through family and friends, something which hostess Annie Smith said should implore people to show their support.
“If you can get behind us it would be great, it’s a fantastic cause and you never know what might happen to a loved one in the future, you might be touched later on by something like this,” she said.
The brains behind the event, Ian Virtue, is cutting his locks off for charity a second time after shaving his head a few years ago in memory of his dad who passed away from the disease.
“The last time I did Shave For A Cure, he passed away just before I had actually done the shave and his biggest joke was ‘when are you going to shave that mop off’,” he said.
Mr Virtue said the inspiration behind the idea came from his own laziness during last year’s COVID lockdowns.
“I got lazy and didn’t cut my hair so I thought I’d make something positive out of it,” he said.
“I approached Annette, who’s one of the owners of the (Grand) Junction and she was more than willing to jump on board, so after COVID we just held on to the goal which was to try and bring people together for a great cause and to make a fun day of it.”
Those who are shaving their heads have mixed opinions about going bald, yet the reasons for going through with it are the same.
“I’m not really crazy about looking like a cue ball but it’s going to help people with leukaemia so I’m happy about that,” Axella Johannesson, who is shaving her head for the first time, said.
Two-time cancer survivor Kath Osborne said her experiences with the disease have at least added to her confidence with going bald.
“I know I look pretty good without hair from when it all fell out during my treatment so it doesn’t faze me,” she said.
Having battled cancer twice, Ms Osborne has experience the benefits of people donating to cancer charities such as the world’s greatest shave.
“The help it gives you with the cost of the treatment is phenomenal and all the support that you can get through it which I’ve had in the past means I’m happy to give back,” she said.
Several raffles will be held, while the Grand Junction is donating $5 from every meal sold for lunch on the day to the Leukaemia Foundation.
