HAIR WE GO, MUM!
PEOPLE from all over Wicklow and indeed Ireland have been shaving off their hair to help support sick children. Delgany woman Amanda Sweeney alone has raised more than €8,000 alone so far, having had her head shaved on Saturday evening.
The Gavin Glynn Foundation has launched the Lockdown Shave, with men, women and children getting on board to raised funds for the foundation.
The foundation was founded by the family of the late Gavin Glynn (3) who lost his battle with cancer in 2014. Gavin’s parents John and Jayne now aim to help families who need to travel overseas for treatment.
With planned fundraising activities all cancelled for now, people have been coming up with creative solutions, one of those the head shave.
‘About two and a half weeks ago, one of our friends in Bray Tony Salmon came up with the idea,’ said John. ‘Nobody has access to the barbers, so he said he’d shave his hair off and see could he raise some money for the foundation. He put the pics up, he daughter shaved his hair at home. It just snowballed from there.’
Last week, a woman from Dunleer in County Lough raised €2,500, and local woman Amanda Sweeney got the chop last weekend - also raising thousands in the process.
Amanda, who admits that this is probably the craziest thing she has ever done, said that the past few weeks of isolation have given me time to think and reflect on how lucky she has been in life. A close friend of hers died earlier this year from cancer, and Amanda wants to help the Gavin Glynn Foundation with their work in her honour.
It was quite the task to chop off her mane of hair. ‘My amazing hairdresser Aindreas McCionaodha calls me the Lion King!’ said Amanda, whose son Ruben took on the task last Saturday. It was in fact the day her sister’s wedding was to take place, so this was a nice little distraction to cheer up the family. Friends and neighbours popped by to watch the pop-up salon operate outside Amanda’s house.
‘ We have five families away at the moment,’ said John Glynn on the foundation’s continuing work. One of those is Georgia Haynes, with her mum Zoe. Georgia, who is just 18 months old, has had surgery at Great Ormonde Street Hospital to have tumours removed from her kidneys. The surgery was a success, with doctors able to save 70 per cent of the kidneys. At the time John was speaking, the foundation was in the process of arranging transport for them to come back to Ireland.
John said that they were meant to travel to America for the surgery, but that was cancelled due to travel restrictions. Thankfully, the UK hospital was able to carry out the life-saving surgery.
‘ We have four other families away and another two travelling in the coming weeks,’ said John.
The present crisis has brought challenges which the foundation has been trying to overcome on behalf of the families it helps.
‘A family we were working with was meant to fly to Germany a number of weeks ago and they were denied access at German border control. We had to get in touch with the Irish Embassy, the German Embassy, and get letters from Crumlin hospital and the hospital in Germany explaining exactly why they were going and how long for,’ said John.
He said that they have had families in Birmingham with difficulties getting home. ‘A family came home this morning, they had to get transport to Manchester airport from Birmingham because there were no flights.’
The foundation has been trying to source PPE for the families and children travelling, to protect them on their journeys.
‘All these families need to travel,’ said John. ‘It is for urgent cancer treatment and we need to get them there and home.’
The Gavin Glynn Foundation looks after flights, transport costs, expenses and accommodation. ‘At least that’s some pressure off their shoulders,’ said John. ‘ They can just pack a bag and concentrate on their child.’
He said that they are still sourcing PPE, including specialised masks. ‘ We got a donation of 5,000 antibacterial gels so we were able to supply them to the children and families who need them.’
Those who decide to shave their heads for the cause can choose to either donate the price of a haircut, or they can fund-raise, in which case the Gavin Glynn Foundation can create a sponsorship link.
‘Loads of people have done it live, which creates a bit of buzz,’ said John. He said it’s also a chance to have a laugh and a bit of fun at an otherwise tense time.
While of course the hair will grow back, John is particularly impressed by girls and women with long hair taking the brave step to shear it all off. He also mentioned one participant who shaved off a beard he had been growing for 13 years. ‘His kids had never seen him without a beard!’
They will try to keep the initiative going for as long as possible, in the hope of raising much needed funds and providing a little entertainment along the way. To support or sign up, find ‘Shave your Head or Beard & Support The Gavin Glynn Foundation’ on Facebook, or go to idonate.ie/ lockdownshave.
Everyone who takes part will receive a Gavin Glynn Foundation Tee-Shirt and bandanna.