Fundraiser turns into a hairy ordeal

FUNDRAISING for the Cancer Council has turned into a hair-raising experience for one ex-Gerringong resident.

Erin Beecher, who now lives in Shoalhaven Heads, had planned for the past five years to shave her hair off and get it made into a wig to donate to the wig library at the Port Kembla Hospital.

The beauty therapist set about growing her hair and last Friday her waist-length locks were shaved off by Gerringong hairdresser Karyn Miller before an audience of friends and passers-by.

Ms Beecher's boyfriend Dwayne Carrall also had his head shaved in support of the cause.

On Friday, Ms Beecher said she had raised over $1000, but was hoping to quadruple that on the weekend at a disco she had organised for local schoolchildren.

But when the Kiama Independent contacted her to find out how the event had gone, she called it a "disaster".

"The school forgot to sell tickets and I had about 12 kids show up. We only raised about $120," she said.

She had approached two schools to sell tickets, and said one would not let her sell tickets through the school but the other one had promised to do help her plea.

"It's just upsetting because the whole idea I've had for the last four or five years was to make a wig and now I can't do that," she said.

"I wanted give half to the Cancer Council and half for a wig."

She said the cheapest wigmaker she found would have charged $2500.

"I'm just trying to decide what to do now. At least the awareness of cancer and the Cancer Council is out there," she said.

Rescheduling the disco was not a possibility because of the cost.

She raised $1215 in total and is looking at the possibility of selling her hair and using the money to buy some synthetic wigs for the library.