Hair-raising challenge raises over £7,000 for Cancer Research UK
A Selsey man who has opted for a buzz cut for the past 25 years has raised more than £7,000 for charity by letting his locks grow out for a year.
Inspired by his father-inlaw’s cancer battle, 36-yearold Damien Coonan decided to let his hair down for Cancer Research UK.
Damien, who works for Ward Ironwork at Bunn Leisure Holiday Park, said: “I’ve always had abnormally curly, out-of-control hair. I shaved it all off in 1995 and have had a skinhead cut since.
“But when my father-in-law was going through treatment for non-hodgkin lymphoma, I wanted to do something to help.
“Some people shave their hair off to raise money but I couldn’t do that, so I thought I’d go the other way and grow it for a year.”
Damienset upafundraising page and his wife Carli – a hairdresser at Creations Hair Salon in Chichester – began posting photos of his increasingly bizarre barnet on Instagram.
He took inspiration from curly-haired celebrities, like Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill, and tried out all sorts of weird and wonderful looks. Friends, family and work colleagues loved seeing his hair-fromhell and began donating.
Damien said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from people – it’s been unreal. My father-in-law, Ken Nicholas, has had quite a battle with cancer for most of 2017 and, although he is still with us, he’s confined to a wheelchair and he’s only 54.
“Before he was diagnosed, if I’m honest, I didn’t know anything about cancer. It was hard for the whole family to deal with. But since then I’ve learned about chemotherapy and radiotherapy and blood transfusions.
“Carli’s grandad passed away from cancer too, so in the last three years, we feel it has engulfed us.”
Damien and Carli got married last October and while sitting on a beach in Mexico during their honeymoon, Damien announced he was going to grow his hair – and keep growing it.
He said: “Of course, through lockdown, no one could have their hair cut, but even by then, mine was wild.
“Carli would do a wash and set, or a perm or put it in plaits. It looked ridiculous, it felt weird and I got a lot of ribbing, but it was worth it.”
Damien finally had it all cut off in October and was delighted to have raised so much money for Cancer Research UK.
He said: “2020 has been quite a year, but I’m glad I was able to do something useful – just by basically doing nothing!”
Nicoladunford, fundraising manager for Cancer Research UK in West Sussex, said: “Damien has done a fantastic job in coming up with a simple but eye-catching idea that caught the imagination of his friends and family.
“We’re grateful to him, and his curly mop of hair, for all the money he has raised. It will be used wisely to help us in our mission to beat cancer sooner.
“The coronavirus pandemic has devastated our income, but the efforts of people like Damien are helping us get on our feet again.”
To donate to Damien’s hair-raising challenge, visit: fundraise.cancerresearchuk. org/page/growing-my-hairfor-a-year