Kina For Skinner fundraisers, from left, Nick Ariell, 15, Jaydan Wilson, 15, Tom Locke, head boy, 17, Ryan Tobin, 14, Cole Freeman, 14, Dane Skipper, 17, sports leader, and Tom Jelley, 14.
Kina For Skinner fundraisers, from left, Nick Ariell, 15, Jaydan Wilson, 15, Tom Locke, head boy, 17, Ryan Tobin, 14, Cole Freeman, 14, Dane Skipper, 17, sports leader, and Tom Jelley, 14.
Close friends and classmates of Kuranui College student Jacob Skinner, who is battling blood cancer, shaved their heads and raised almost $1000 for him yesterday.
Scores of students gathered to support seven of Jacob's mates and food technology teacher Dean Hands as they had their locks shorn at the schoolStudent Centre yesterday in support of the sporting Year 11 student, who was diagnosed with cancer and rushed to Christchurch for treatment late last month.
His close mate, Cole Freeman, had suggested the Kina for Skinner event, which his mother, Trish Freeman, had helped organise.
"Cole has known Jacob since primary school and he decided to do this as soon as Jacob was diagnosed. They all went out and said 'right, we're going to do this - we're going to support our mate'," she said.
The boys also had named the event and won sponsors, she said, while also seeking donations from their classmates as their tresses hit the floor yesterday. There already had been talk among the friends of "a couple of sausage sizzles" they would also run as fundraisers for Jacob, Ms Freeman said, and two other friends were planning to repeat the sponsored shave as well. Kuranui College principal Geoff Shepherd said almost $1000 had been raised through sponsorships and donations at yesterday's event that came after other school fundraisers during the past fortnight.
Mr Shepherd said Jacob was expected to be receiving intensive chemotherapy for the "treatable" non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for at least the next three months.
There will be a donation box and pledged sponsorship to raise money, however, the focus is more to support Jacob through this time. The students have raised more than $4000 so far through a school fun run, car washes and donations from college sports teams.
Mr Shepherd commended the spontaneity of the fundraising by the friends and classmates of Jacob and the involvement in the support for him from agencies including the Cancer Society of New Zealand.
