Hilary Barry is hosting a new virtual charity event on June 6th where 25 people will Shave Live to save lives.
“People from all over New Zealand are coming together to shave off their lockdown hair. It’s a live online fundraiser for a wonderful cause supporting thousands of Kiwis with blood cancer,” says Hilary Barry.
Shave Live is part of the iconic Shave for a Cure fundraising event by Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC). The Covid-19 environment forced the cancellation of their usual fundraising events creating a gaping hole in their income.
“We were facing a 70% revenue loss because of Covid-19 – so it was sink or swim for many charities like us. We made a conscious decision to innovate and change the way we do things. This includes moving fundraising events online such as Live Shave. Organisations need to think quickly and become agile to survive the new normal the virus has created,” says Peter Fergusson, CEO of LBC.
Hilary is excited to be involved in the first-ever mass shave event streaming online for the charity.
“I’ve been involved in Shave for a Cure for a number of years and enjoy getting on the clippers, with varying degrees of success. But this year because of Covid we’re having to do things a little differently which is exciting,” says Hillary Barry
LBC provides support services to ease the burden that blood cancer patients face. Being in lockdown posed challenges, but the organisation took it in their stride by adapting to a new approach.
“Our team worked around-the-clock, through all alert levels changing the way we do things. We were determined to maximise the care and support we offered regardless of Covid-19 barriers. Support groups moved online, and we live-streamed online patient Q&A sessions with health professionals. We increased the help we give to the most vulnerable patients by keeping in close contact by phone, text, and online. We also changed the format of the annual patient conference to an online symposium,” says Peter Fergusson.
Live Shave participants spin the Shave Wheel of Fun to choose their crazy shave style. You can watch, donate and celebrate the brave online shaves! Tune in to Live Shave, 3 pm on Saturday 6th of June at https://www.facebook.com/LBCNZ.
Live Shave is transforming into a roaring success; so much it will likely become an annual event for LBC. Hilary has some tips for people keen to get into the action.
“I encourage anyone to sign up to Shave for a Cure – it runs all year round. It’s a fantastic way to show your support for blood cancer patients. What better way to get a new lid than to raise money for charity at the same time. And if its a disaster, don’t worry, it’ll always grow back! If you’re too shy to shave you can always donate,” says Hilary.
Learn more here https://shaveforacure.co.nz/