Leukaemia Charity cuts hair and raises over €30,000

TEAMS of teachers, children and employees from various organisations raised over €30,000 for a Leukaemia charity in a sponsored head-shaving event in Nicosia yesterday.

Thirty eight people, divided into 14 teams, competed to raise the most sponsorship at the event, held the Da Capo Cafe on Makarios Avenue in aid of the Leukemia Charity Challenge4Life.

Da Capo’s team came first, followed by Phileleftheros newspaper in second, and the Ministry of Health in third, all raising undisclosed sums for the charity.

Health Minister Christos Patsalides and Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou also attended the event

The two-member University of Nicosia team with English teachers Katherine Fincham-Lewis and Mike Hadjimike raised almost €2000. Fincham-Lewis said “I did it because it is a really good cause, and an event like this helps to involve the kids at a grass roots level. This is much better than simply donating to a charity.”

Eleven year old student, Zoe from The Junior School raised €250 to have her hair cut. “Most of the donations came from friends and family. This is a small sacrifice to make to raise awareness” she said.

One competitor had even entered independently, paying €10 for the privilege. Marios, a student from the University of Nicosia, said “I heard about this on the radio and so I came to help people with Cancer. It feels better now, but a bit colder.”

Pavlos Costeas, Director of Challenges for Life, said yesterday “The aim of the event is to support the Centre for the study of Haematological Malignancies. It is a symbolic event and I think shaving heads is the best way to do this.”

Based on the success of this event, Costeas is now planning to repeat the event annually “We intend to do this every year, not just for fund raising but to make people more aware of the centre’s work.”

All of the funds raised yesterday by Challenge4Life will go to support The Centre for the Study of Haematological Malignancies in the fight against leukaemia. Leukaemia is the most common cause of cancer in children under the age of 20 years. In adults, haematological malignancies represent 10 per cent of the new cases of cancer and cause nearly 10 per cent of all cancer deaths.

The event was also supporting the American charity Wigs for Kids. Any competitors’ hair over eight inches in length will be sent to the US to be made into wigs for children suffering from Leukaemia.

For more information about the charity and future challenge events, visit www.challenges4life.org.cy

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