John Paul College students set to lose their locks for fundraiser

Three John Paul College students have set a big fundraising target as they prepare to lose their locks for a cause which hits close to home.

Anna Douglas, 16, Frances James, 17, and Fisher Wang, 17, will be shaving their heads for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand at a school assembly on July 4.

Their goal is to raise $6000 for the organisation between now and then, and will also be taking donations just after the shaving.

Frances says seeing the courage from other people doing it was something which pushed them to do it too.

"I did a bit of research and saw how powerful it was."

Anna says this is something she has always wanted to do it, and now is a perfect chance.

Fisher says this will be his third time shaving his hair for cancer.

He says he wants to help those who have been affected by it and help to give them a better life with all the support they can have.

Frances says her grandfather passed away earlier this year of lung cancer, and Fisher says his mother passed away a few years ago from a rare form of cancer, which just seven people across the world are diagnosed with per year.

"We've seen first-hand the effects of cancer and this is the biggest fundraiser that we can do.

John Paul College students Anna Douglas, 16, (left), Fisher Wang, 17, and Frances James, 17, are participating in Shave for a Cure. Photo/Ben Fraser

"By shaving our heads it gets more people involved. We aren't just standing there asking for money."

They say they are mostly excited about getting their heads shaved, but also a bit nervous.

They say it is a great cause because the donations go to people's families too, not just research.

"We've seen how cancer affects families. It's pretty powerful."

Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's free and personalised services range from having someone to talk to in the support services team, to disease-specific information and resources.

Ali McHugh, John Paul College deputy principal student management, says it is important to them as a school that when students come forward to raise money for cancer, or anything else vitally important which affects us all in some way, that they support them.

She says they the students will speak and shave their heads at assembly to highlight the importance of what people are going through in our community, as well as what we can do to help them.

Ali says $6000 is a big target for them, and the school has another boy doing Shave for a Cure out of school through the fundraiser's website.

The three students are going around school with buckets to help collect donations.

People can go to shaveforacure.co.nz and search John Paul College to donate.