WCC teacher Elizabeth Filitonga (centre) and students proudly rock their freshly shaved heads for a good cause after raising more than $3,000 on 21 November . Photo: Supplied.
Fresh buzz cuts and colourful hair seemed to be the status quo at Western Cape College (WCC) last Thursday as the school took part in the World’s Greatest Shave.
Students and teachers raised more than $3,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation on 21 November during what was described as a “very wholesome” day.
“The kids really got into it – we had a lot of last-minute students who really wanted to participate in the shave and show their solidarity with the cause, so that was really nice to see,” teacher and event organiser Elizabeth Filitonga said.
“We also had the coloured hairspray for the kids as well, and that was really fun.”
Ms Filitonga said she regularly rocked the buzz cut, and decided to bring the event back to the school.
“I think they’ve done [the World’s Greatest Shave] previously, but I think it’s been a few years since they’ve last done it,” she said.
“I actually regularly shave my head, and it’s been suggested to me that I should do it for World’s Greatest Shave, so I thought if I’m going to do it anyway, I should do it for something that is a good cause.
“It actually started off quite small; I was really just going to raise money and do it just with my Year 7 class, but then Dan Tonon, the principal, he was really excited to make it a whole college event and it kind of snowballed.”
She said the kids had lots of fun with each other while they learned about the Leukaemia Foundation and what it supported.
“There were lots of crazy hairstyles going on, and it was just very good energy,” Ms Filitonga said.
“It was good because we were able to talk about why we were doing this event, how blood cancers affect so many people in Australia, and how the money that we were raising supports people with different blood cancers.
“It was good that we could get that message across, and it was also good in building a real college unity in supporting this event.”
WCC is continuing its fundraising effort with a goal of $5,000, and any community members who wish to contribute to the target can do so on the school’s World’s Greatest Shave webpage.
