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, nine 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 grown 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 seven grassroot organizations. In 2011, the event saw 547 females shave their heads, out of the 4238 shavees. [8]
In 2013, Premi Mathew, a breast cancer survivor, launched Hair for Hope India to donate hair for cancer patients in India. [9] [10] In June 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation launched the first global Cut-a-thon, which was held live via Zoom. About 120 people participated in the event. [10]
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. [11] This drew criticism from netizens on the principal's actions as this goes against the spirit of Hair for Hope. [12] 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. [13]
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.
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 start growing beards, on average at the age of 18.
Head shaving is a form of body modification which involves shaving the hair from a person's head. People throughout history have shaved all or part of their heads for diverse reasons including aesthetics, convenience, culture, fashion, practicality, punishment, a rite of passage, religion, or style.
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.
The Community Chest of Hong Kong is an independent, nonprofit organization established on 8 November 1968 in Hong Kong. The Community Chest serves as an umbrella organization to provide grants to a wide range of community projects.
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. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-English diminutive word for moustache, "mo", and "November". 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."
A queue or cue is a hairstyle worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria, and was later required to be worn by male subjects of Qing China. Hair on top of the scalp is grown long and is often braided, while the front portion of the head is shaved. The distinctive hairstyle led to its wearers being targeted during anti-Chinese riots in Australia and the United States.
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.
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 a national charity in Australia dedicated to helping people who have been diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS, MPN, Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia, aplastic anaemia, or amyloidosis.
The Stollery Children's Hospital is a 218 bed children's hospital that opened in October 2001. It is a "hospital within a hospital," being situated within the University of Alberta Hospital and co-located with Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The Bluey Day Foundation was a not-for-profit organization in Australia that called 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. Karl David founded The Bluey Day Foundation in 1995. The Foundation ceased its activities in 2010, after having raised over $20 million Australian dollars for the benefit of children with cancer.
Global Pink Hijab Day was an initiative that began as an experiment by founder, Hend El-Buri and a group of high school students in Columbia, Missouri. It was intended to remove stereotypes of Muslim women by having Muslims engage in dialogue about breast cancer awareness, joining walks in groups while wearing pink headscarves, and holding other events promoting awareness and support for the cause. Global Pink Hijab Day was last celebrated in 2011.
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. The Roanoke Valley Chess Club brings and sustains 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.
Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in Parkland, Florida, in 2012 by professional baseball player Anthony Rizzo. The organization raises money for cancer research and provides support to families battling cancer. The headquarters are in Parkland, Florida, and Brooklyn, New York.
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.