Hair for Hope is a charity event in which participants have their heads shaven in order to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Foundation whose mission is to "improving the quality of life of children with cancer and their families through enhancing their emotional, social and medical well-being." [1]
 | |
| Industry | Charity Fundraising Event |
|---|---|
| Founded | Singapore, 2003 |
| Founder | Children's Cancer Foundation |
| Headquarters | |
| Website | www |
Hair for Hope is an annual fundraising initiative, organized by the Children's Cancer Foundation, in order to raise funds and awareness of childhood cancer in Singapore. [2] Participants who volunteer to join their cause will shave their heads bald. It is the only head-shaving event in Singapore and through this gesture, Hair for Hope aims to accomplish the following goals as mentioned below: [3]
Hair for Hope believes every shaven head symbolizes the understanding of the difficulties faced by a child with cancer. The act of shaving helps to increase awareness of childhood cancer and also presents itself as a chance to amass monetary support from the public. [4]
In 2003, 9 Children's Cancer Foundation volunteers decided to shave their heads to help garner support for children with cancer during Tulip Hearts Day, an annual Children's Cancer Foundation fundraising event, with the help of Lush Hair Creation’s hair stylists. $2000 in donation was raised towards Children's Cancer Foundation. The idea for Hair for Hope was born. On 27 August 2004, Hair for Hope was officially launched involving 73 volunteers raising up to $48,000 for Children's Cancer Foundation beneficiaries.
Being an initiative of the Children’s Cancer Foundation, Hair for Hope began in 2004. Hair for Hope has both raised money for the Children’s Cancer Foundation’s beneficiaries and increased awareness for the foundation as well as Children’s Cancer.
Participants garner pledges for the cause with many individuals and groups signing up to give their support for the cause. They then have their heads shaven at the annual event typically held at the end of July. Hair for Hope also partners with many organisations who support the event through providing participants as well as other means. Hair from volunteers are also used to make wigs to raise funds too.
Having grown beyond a single event, there are now many satellite events held under the Hair for Hope banner. [5] These events are organised by both public and private organisations and are non-concurrent to the main event. Venues are usually provided free by the organisers and hair salons, such as Jean Yip Group and Next Hair Salon, provided their services for free also. [6]
Hair for Hope established the Hair for Hope Facebook page and Twitter account in April 2011 and Instagram account, more recently, in November 2014. [7]
Since its inception in 2003 with only nine volunteers to shaving their heads and raising S$2,000 for the event, it has grew to 6656 shavees and achieved more than S$3.29 million in 2014. It has branched out and reached 53 satellite events organized by 33 corporate offices, 13 schools and 7 grassroot organization. In 2011, the event saw 547 females shave their heads, out of the 4238 shavees. [8]
In 2013, three out of five St Margaret’s Secondary School female students, who took part in the Hair for Hope, attended school without wearing wigs as promised to their school administration. They were then instructed by their principal to wear a wig to school. They were then accompanied by a parent volunteer to buy a wig. [9] This drew criticism from netizens on the principal’s actions as this goes against the spirit of Hair for Hope. [10] After discussions with the school administration and the girls, the Education Minister at the time, Heng Swee Keat announced that the students will not have to wear a wig. [11]
Tonsure is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word tonsura and referred to a specific practice in medieval Catholicism, abandoned by papal order in 1972. Tonsure can also refer to the secular practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy, or to designate mourning. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem.
Hair removal, also known as epilation or depilation, is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair.
Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down—to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove their leg and underarm hair. A man is called clean-shaven if he has had his beard entirely removed.
A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. Some women with hirsutism, a hormonal condition of excessive hairiness, may develop a beard.
Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarring is not usually present. Hair loss in some people causes psychological distress.
Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. People throughout history have shaved all or part of their heads for diverse reasons including practicality, convenience, fashion, style, religion, aesthetics, culture, and punishment.
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held in numerous regions around the world in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox, and his Marathon of Hope, and to raise money for cancer research.
Relay For Life is a community-based fundraising event for the American Cancer Society and many other Cancer related institutions, societies and associations. Each year, more than 5,000 Relay For Life events take place in over twenty countries. Events are held in local communities, university campuses and in virtual campaigns. As the American Cancer Society's most successful fundraiser and the organization's signature event, the mission of Relay For Life is to raise funds to improve cancer survival, decrease the incidence of cancer, and improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their caretakers.
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation was a charitable organization which raised money to advance research, education, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Established in 1986 by Nancy Tsai, it worked to fund, support, and advocate for education and awareness programs, early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and quality of life for those suffering from breast cancer. It is also part of a seven-member coalition which funds breast cancer research in Canada.
The Canadian Cancer Society is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada.
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event, housed at Movember.com. The goal of Movember is to "change the face of men's health."
The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a not-for-profit organization with the aim of raising funds to help find cures for children with cancer. The name of the foundation is not associated with a recognized Saint of the Catholic Church, but is founded on word play and appropriation of the title of sainthood. Volunteers sponsored by family, friends, and employers shave their heads or "chop" their ponytails in solidarity with children who typically lose their hair during cancer treatment in order to raise funds.
Holy Innocents' High School (HIHS) is a Catholic school in Singapore. Founded in 1892, the school offers secondary school education leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination, in both the Express and Normal (Academic) streams, as well as Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level in the Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams.
The Irish Cancer Society is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer.
The Leukaemia Foundation is the only national charity in Australia dedicated to assisting those with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS, MPN, Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia, aplastic anaemia, amyloidosis, and related blood-disorders survive and live a better quality of life.
The Bluey Day Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation in Australia and calls upon national Police, Ambulance, Fire and Emergency Services as well as the general community to raise funds to support children with cancer and other serious illnesses.
The Hair Massacure, sometimes referred to as the St. Valentine's Day Hair Massacure, is a mass head-shave in Alberta, Canada, raising funds to support children with life-threatening illnesses, along with cancer research.
The Roanoke Valley Chess Club was founded in 1947 in Roanoke, Virginia, and is the oldest continuously operating chess club in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Roanoke Valley Chess Club receives an annual grant from the Dorothy S. and Walter Muir Memorial Fund, managed by the Foundation for the Roanoke Valley. The Roanoke Valley Chess Club is an IRS non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. For over 70 years, the Roanoke Valley Chess club has served to bring and sustain chess activities to the region, and holds regular events. These events include United States Chess Federation USCF Grand Prix tournaments. The club also holds volunteer annual outreach events during Roanoke's annual Festival in the Park, Grandin Court Block Party, and more.
The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride is a global motorcycle event raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men's mental health programs on behalf of the Movember Foundation.
Bear Necessities Pediatric Foundation is a nonprofit national organization that works with children who have cancer, and their families by providing resources and positive experiences. This organization was founded in memory of Barret "Bear" Krupa, a boy who had a wish to help other children and families with cancer. The Bear Necessities Pediatric Foundation has expanded into two main programs: Bear Discoveries, which focuses on funding for research, and Bear Hugs, which focuses on giving children and their families a positive experience.