GoingBald for aGoodCause
When CCF volunteers Adrian Lee and Steven Chung
shaved their heads in 2003, they received countless
stares and shocked reactions. “I basically got a non-
verbal reaction like “Are you mad?” or “Are you trying to
be funny?” recountsAdrian in amusement.
Thatwas the firstyearofHair forHope,whenSingaporeans
had not yet warmed to the idea of shaving their heads in
support of children with cancer. But Adrian and Steven,
who were volunteers for CCF events such as the then
CampSunshine, realised itwasprecisely thismindset that
needed to change.
“I got closer to one of the families during the camp and
realised that they did not have friends who understood
what they were going through when their child was
undergoing cancer treatment,” saysAdrian.
Theclose friendsand formeruniversityschoolmates roped
insevenmoreCCFvolunteers toshave their heads for the
very first time. Although it was meant to tell children with
cancer that they were not alone rather than a fundraising
event, they made enough impact to be featured in The
Straits Times.
But the bigger impact, says Adrian, was the chance to
start conversations with friends and colleagues about the
work of CCF and childhood cancer.
“I didn’t even need to hound anyone for money, they just
asked about my hair and if I was alright, and I just opened
up. It’s reallymucheasier to talkaboutCCFandchildhood
cancer when they are the ones asking the questions,”
saysAdrian.
The response was so good that the following year, the
team decided to organiseHair for Hope on a larger scale.
This time, 73 individuals recruited throughasimplewebsite
and email blasts, came forward to shave their heads.
Despite the early success, Steven was cautiously
optimistic about the future of Hair for Hope. “We never
thought it would become so big, although we did think it
would be nice if this could become an annual exercise,”
he says.
Yet after 14 years, 42,261 shaveesandover $24million in
funds raised, themotivationbehindHair for Hope remains
unchanged.
Steven says, “Hair forHope isnot just a fun thing, but also
about the meaning behind it. We are trying to take the
stigma and sting out of being bald. If being bald is not a
big deal then losing hair due to chemotherapy would hurt
less for children or adults, and it would make the whole
recovery process a lot less painful.”
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