Health & Fitness

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It was sunny and warm Saturday afternoon as 14 people gave up their lovely locks to help raise more than $5,000 for pediatric cancer research, in the annual Cops for Cancer shave-off held beside Sobeys parking lot in Kincardine. More money is expected from the Sobeys barbecue and the Cops for Cancer golf tournament.

Organizer Lynda Cooper of myFM Radio was thrilled with the response, even though the numbers are down slightly from last year.

The highlight was watching Cooper's colleague at myFM, Travis Crawford, who agreed to not only have his head shaved but his legs waxed if he raised more than $1,000. With the help of the radio station and his friends and family, the goal was met, and Crawford had to try and relax while the hair was removed from his legs.

Crawford thought he was ready for the event, but admitted in the midst of the leg-waxing that it hurt a lot more than he had anticipated.

Meanwhile, he had dyed the hair on his head blonde for the occasion and was not sorry to see it disappear. Rubbing his newly-shaved head, he said, "It's cold but the breeze feels good."

He also joked that not only does he sound like colleague Ryan Berry, now he looks like him.

Eric Braun of Kincardine was looking forward to having his head shaved. "I'm doing this in support of my mom who has lymphoma," he said. "I usually grow my hair long for the snowboarding season and then get it cut short in March. I've been waiting for this."

Liz Ross and her sister, Mary Gallant, of Kincardine, were marking the 10th anniversary of the last time they had their heads shaved - again, they did it in memory of their brother, Harvey Ross.

Shaun McCarthy, 10, and his nine-year-old brother, Shayne, of Ripley, had joined forces to raise more than $500 before going under the clippers. Shaun is a Type 1 diabetic and had decided at the Cops for Cancer event last year that he would grow his hair for a year and participate in this year's shave-off, to help children who suffer from cancer. The brothers were collecting further donations from their fellow students and staff at Ripley-Huron Community School.

Jennifer White of Kincardine Home Hardware donated nine braids of hair to the Locks for Love, and then had her head shaved. She raised more than $1,800 for the shave-off.

"So many people are afflicted by cancer," said White. "They're not just battling the disease, but whole families have to change their entire lifestyle to deal with this. I want to show support for them."

Christine Parry of Kincardine had about 20 braids of hair she was also donating to Locks for Love. And she was getting her head shaved, in support of her father, Dave Parry of Tiverton, who was diagnosed two months ago with lymphoma.

Hair Connection of Kincardine supplied the three hairdressers, Jill Snyder, Reina Arnold and Brian Tovey, for the event.

Volunteer Lorne Roach was collecting the hair which the Hair Connection is sending to a company in Alabama to make oil booms for absorbing the oil on the surface of the water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Katrina Smiley, owner/operator of the Hair Connection, said it's one way for small-town Kincardine to help with the clean-up of one of the largest oil spills in history.

"A lot of animals are being killed, and the water on the shoreline is all destroyed," she said. "Oil booms made of such things as hair, fur and fabric strips, are making a huge difference. They keep the oil from reaching the shoreline."

She heard about the company, Matter of Trust, on the news and then registered on-line to be a donor of any hair received at the hair salon. The company's website is www.matteroftrust.org.

Smiley said a little girl came into the hair salon a few days ago to get her first haircut. "She was quite nervous and her hair was really long. We were talking with her to calm her down and when I told her that her hair would go to save some animals, she had no problem getting her hair cut. In fact, she was excited about it."

If any other hair salons or hairdressers would like to help out with this project, contact Hair Connection at 519-396-7487 or check out the website at www.hairconnectionsalon.com, for more information.
 

Travis Crawford of myFM Radio, sporting blonde hair and a garter, gets ready to go under the clippers and the waxing  

Brian Tovey gives Travis a clownish appearance before finishing the job

Travis tries to remain calm while his mother, Myrna Crawford (R), and his mother-in-law, Linda Luckhart, take the first wax strip off his legs

Travis allows his son, Edwin, four months, and father-in-law Matthew Luckhart, to tear a strip off his legs

Harlan Brownrigg-Ross, 13, of Kincardine says goodbye to his curly locks, thanks to hairdresser Brian Tovey

Christine Parry of Kincardine rubs her hand over her shaved head

Eric Braun of Kincardine with hair and then ... under the clippers of hairdresser Brian Tovey

... and finally Jennifer rubs her shaved head as hairdresser Reina Arnold finishes the job

Shaun McCarthy, 10, of Ripley holds up the ponytail made from the length of his hair in the back. Then goes under the clippers to have the rest removed by hairdresser Reina Arnold (L) while the hair is gathered up by volunteer Lorne Roach

Shayne McCarthy, 9, of Ripley joins his brother in getting his head shaved

Steve Palmer of Sobeys mans the barbecue

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Sunday, May 30, 2010