Ara Leaders Line Up To Shave For Charity And Raise Over $2000
25 September, 2020
On Wednesday September 23rd, Ara’s barbering students had the opportunity to get up close and personal with many of the Institute’s leadership figures, as eight of them chose to put their beards on the line for charity.
Ara’s inaugural Blue September Beard Shaving Event took place at Ara’s barber shop in Paxus House. CE Tony Gray, Ara Kaiārahi Director of Māori Development Te Marino and CO Darren Mitchell were among the brave candidates who stepped forward to donate their beard – or rather the proceeds from auctioning off the right to re-style said beards - towards greater understanding of prostate cancer.
Top bidders were contacted so that they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to attend and pick their desired beard designs from a selection of progressive - not to say startling - design options.
The shaving activity was enlivened by the appearance of a local ‘barbershop quartet’ who proceeded to serenade both participants and onlookers, and outside colleagues from the Hospitality & Service Industries department sizzled sausages to keep everyone’s courage up.
To top the male spirit of sacrifice, Ara colleague Kathryn Fraser dramatically offered to shave her head completely if attendees would sponsor her – and after a heated bidding war, $400 was raised for the removal of all of Katherine’s hair.
Kathryn was also the lucky winner of the right to determine CE Tony Gray’s final facial aesthetic, opting for one of the less arresting styles in a commendable display of kindness. The rest of the volunteers ended up with a show-stopping medley of follicular fashion, ranging from a retro Pennsylvanian Dutch trim through to Te Marino’s ‘Bat Sparrow’ – a look that combined the best features of a Batman symbol and fictional movie pirate Jack Sparrow’s signature beard braids.
Despite the devil-may-care air of his end look, Te Marino commented that he’d taken the occasion to heart and had ensured that he also used the day to take his annual prostate cancer blood-marker test. CO Darryn Mitchell, CE Tony Gray and Head of Engineering School Michael Edmonds assured onlookers that they too made time for regular check-ups.
Paul Skidmore, Barbering Tutor says that he himself has always made a point of having regular check-ups as he does have familial risk factors. He says “I have frank talks with my students and tell them it’s just so important to keep wellbeing in mind; both for yourself and for your clients. Even as you’re looking after their personal appearance, you’re also in a great position to ask how they feel, check out how they’re looking and make sure any lumps and bumps you spot aren’t something that they maybe need to have a doctor check. Working with barbershop clients puts us in the perfect position to have those spontaneous talks that men haven’t always been so good at; about feelings and health and the need for regular check-ups. In the barbershop, you can provide clients with a sense that there’s a team of men looking out for each other.”
Including a handsome $786.00 gained from donated payments for hairdressing services on the day, a grand total of $2,09.73 was raised, all to be donated to Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ.
