Hair razing fundraiser

Two Leigh locals will lose their long-cherished hair and beards next month to raise money for the Leigh Volunteer Fire Brigade.

The Brave the Shave fundraiser at the Leigh Community Hall on Saturday, January 27 will fund equipment for the brigade’s new truck. In particular, they want to buy a single wheel mule stretcher carrier (pictured), which can traverse rough and narrow terrain with less strain on the responding fire crews.

Fire chief Kevin Lawton says there are numerous walking tracks around Leigh and if a walker is injured, it can be a real challenge to extract them safely using a conventional stretcher. The cost of both pieces of equipment is around $12,000 and organisers have set themselves a target of $20,000.

Facing the sharpened scissors will be Gabe Ransom and the man known in Leigh simply as Frick.

Gabe says he can’t remember when he last had a shave or haircut, but thought it might be around 15 years ago.

“Losing my hair and beard is a small sacrifice that I can make as a tribute to all the time and effort the awesome Leigh Fire Brigade members make for our community on a regular basis,” Gabe says.

“Fortunately, I’ve not required their services yet, and hope not to, but their hard work and their voluntary efforts to save lives and homes in our community don’t go unnoticed.”

Frick says his last haircut was about 40 years ago, and his wife and family have never seen him without a beard.

“I feel for our firefighters every time the siren goes off and as I’m too old to join, this is my way of helping my friends in the brigade,” he says.

“If I can raise funds to make their work easier, I feel that’s great.

“I have needed all of the emergency services at one time or another, St Johns included, and without them I wouldn’t be here today, so I feel that this shave is the least I can do to show my appreciation to them.”

At the end of last month, the Leigh brigade had responded to more than 140 callouts, one of its busiest years on record.

“The brigade is in great shape with a mix of experienced firefighters and young enthusiastic recruits who are going through their training modules,” Lawton says.

“But it’s knowing that the community is behind us that keeps the volunteers motivated. It’s awesome that we have such a supportive community.”

To donate a few dollars to the fundraiser, go to ‘Brave the Shave LVFB’ on the givealittle.co.nz page.

The event will start at 3pm, and there will be a sausage sizzle and beverages at the station on the day.

The fundraising page will close after the shave.