South Taranaki high school's shaveathon event raises over $3000 for cancer charities

Hawera High School shaved their heads to support those affected by cancer. Photo/ Supplied

Students and staff of a south Taranaki high school have shaved their heads to raise funds for those affected by cancer.

This is the second year Hāwera High School has run the shaveathon. Year 9 student Julia Scott, 13, who organised this year's event, says she is grateful for the support the event has received.

"I had heard about last year's shaveathon and I wanted to do it again. I'm completely blown away by the support and how the community comes together to support our fundraisers. I'm so proud to be part of a community that rallies behind their local school to support a good cause. Hāwera is an incredible place."

Initially, seven students had signed up to shave their heads but at the event, on September 22, Julia says more students hopped on board.

"We had 10 students and one teacher."

Julia says she initially didn't plan to shave her head, but felt inspired by her peers.

"Seeing everyone else get their head shaved gave me the courage to do so. Unfortunately, I couldn't donate my hair to be made into wigs but other people did. At first, I was nervous to shave my head but in the end, it felt liberating. I think everyone should shave their head at least once. It brings a sense of confidence and knowing that I did it for a good cause made the decision that much easier, it made me feel really good."

Julia says the school had a plan in place so the event could run following alert level 2 guidelines.

"We had 100 people in total at the event. It took place outside and everyone was wearing masks and had to sign in. We're very lucky we were able to have the event."

The shaveathon raised a total of $3557, with Julia raising $1782 on her Shave for a Cure fundraising page.

"I'm thankful to everyone that has donated. I hope the shaveathon becomes a tradition that carries on, it would be a really good one."