February 2006 ISSUE
Gary Wicentowich
STUDENT COLUMNS
What Are 60 Shaved Heads Worth?
BY GARY WICENTOWICH
University of Alberta
Student Contributor (Engineering)
Engineering students at the U of A were after a modest increase in money raised at their 2005 head shave, a fundraiser for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. But modesty, apparently, doesn’t apply in a head shave — because they doubled their dollar total.
Last year the Engineering Head Shave raised over $13,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. With that success under their belts, members of the Engineering Students’ Society set the bar a little higher for this year’s event. The goal was to raise over $15,000 and have over 50 participants involved.
With these aspirations in mind, the organizers set to work.
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A LOT OFF THE SIDES |
On Nov. 25, the second annual Engineering Head Shave broke the ESS goal. Well, broke is an understatement — the goal was shattered. Obliterated. Smashed.
Whatever the word, it was clear that all expectations were exceeded as over $26,000 was raised by nearly 60 participants for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
“This was beyond what we could have imagined,” said Helen Press, one of the organizers. “I’m just amazed by everyone’s generosity.”
The event had its fair share of amazing stories. For instance, there was Dr. Duncan Elliott, P.Eng., who challenged his class to raise a certain amount in order for him to shave. As well, there were the five girls who shaved off their hair and raised thousands of dollars collectively.
Finally, a number of executive of the University of Alberta Students’ Union shaved their head, including SU President Graham Lettner, an APEGGA student member. He noted: “After raising over $26,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation from a single event, the ESS has really made a name for itself. It is well-organized, it has a social conscience, and it has great leadership.”
Emmy Stuebing, development coordinator for the Alberta Cancer Foundation, is likewise happy about the results. “This really is a remarkable accomplishment, considering that this is students raising these funds. These are people that don’t have a lot to give, but the amount of hard work that has gone into this is really amazing.”
In addition to the head shave, nearly half of the participants were involved in an earlier event called the Engineering Hair Dye. For every $100 raised for the event, the participants would dye their hair a certain colour. Overall, the Engineering Hair Dye raised over $1,400, and 24 students dyed their hair in a rainbow pattern a week before the shave.
Including the Razored for Ron head shave in 2003, which was also organized by engineering students at the U of A, the last three years has seen over $51,000 raised for the cause. So what’s the goal for next year?
“We haven’t even thought about it yet,” says APEGGA student member Graeme Wicentowich, another organizer. “We’re still blown away by what happened this year. It won’t be easy to top that, but we’ll give it our all.”