NEARLY two dozen people have helped raise over £6,000 by having their heads shaved in solidarity with an Evesham woman who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
In total, 22 people had their heads shaved in a bid to raise as much money as possible for Julie Henn, 58, from Badsey, who received the saddening news of a stage three ovarian cancer diagnosis just months ago.
The event, hosted at The Bridge Inn and Ferry Pub with support from the landlord, was organised by Julie’s friend, Neil Butler, 61.
Three local hairdressers, Nikki from MGC barbers, Nikki from Stylicious Hair Design and Nick Nash of Nix Hair and Beauty, all offered their time to shaving heads at the event on March 29.
Neil’s initial fundraising target of £500 has been smashed, with the fund currently sitting at £5,165 at the time we went to press.
A raffle and tombola on the night of the event, with prizes donated by local businesses, also helped to raise a whopping £1300 extra.
Neil told the Standard: “The event was hard work to organise but all of the community pulled together, everyone was so supportive.
“Both us and Julie were gobsmacked at the funds, to reach this amount is unbelievable.
“We’re absolutely over the moon.”
Among the original 15 people who agreed to have their heads shaved on the evening included Neil, his wife, his son, Samuel, his godson, Michael, and Bridge Inn and Ferry Landlord, Alistair Barlow, alongside many of their friends.
To top it all off, an additional seven people at the pub decided to jump in to support the cause, bringing the total heads shaved to 22.
Neil’s friend Julian Sherbourne, who lives in Detroit, Michigan also joined the event via live link from the USA to stream his own head shaving with support from his wife.
Although Julie is undergoing intense chemotherapy she vowed to attend the event to show her appreciation for the support. She told Neil ‘I’m coming no matter what.’
Julie’s fundraiser will be live on JustiGiving until the end of April. Anyone still wishing to help can visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/caroline-butler-1 to donate.
