Hey there, baldy! Here's five bucks!

June 16, 2008 8:53 AM

I'd like to shave my head for charity. What's the best way to go about it?

I want to shave my head; I've wanted to for a long time and hope to do it soon. I'm getting ready to do it. I'd like to have an excuse, or make it work in some way. I know that some people have shaved their heads for charity, and I'm wondering how they go about it? I'm sure I could just do it myself, ask for money and pass it along to the cancer charity of my choice, but are there charities that organize such things?

posted by not that girl to grab bag (10 comments total)

Lots of folks I know have had great success with Locks of Love.
posted by TomMelee at 8:59 AM on June 16, 2008

Wigs for Kids is another group that accepts hair (although they have a 12" length requirement).
posted by Isosceles at 9:51 AM on June 16, 2008

Blogger and Television Without Pity co-founder Sarah D. Bunting did it not long ago...looks like DonorsChoose.org is a good way to go. The main thing to keep in mind is whether there will be enough people who care about you shaving your head for it to actually raise anything.
posted by kittyprecious at 10:09 AM on June 16, 2008

St. Baldrick's!
posted by AthenaPolias at 10:10 AM on June 16, 2008

Do you have a group you could team up with? My husband belonged to a fraternity when he was in school and one of their fund raisers involved shaving their heads for charity. The fraternity collected money with the promise that whoever got the most would have to shave their head. All proceeds went to the cancer ward in the local hospital. Of course in the end, they all ended up shaving their heads.

If your goal is to actually donate the hair and not just shave your head, you should look into one of the other charities that have mentioned. There's also Pantene's Beautiful Lengths.
posted by geeky at 10:14 AM on June 16, 2008

In the experience of a friend of mine in college, you may find it easier to raise more money if you do it for someone who may or may not videotape it for personal purposes, and/or ask to keep the hair. I'm sorry if this suggestion is offensive in any way, but I believe she made $500 -- the most she could find from any competing offers -- and she told me the person she made this deal with was not intimidating and made her feel comfortable and safe. Just another option to consider if your goal is simply to raise the most money possible.

In addition, the more "unusual" your hair is -- very long, very red or blonde, dreadlocks, etc. -- the more money you may be able to command, whether you are looking for a fetishist or simply to generate interest and make the bucks.
posted by fiercecupcake at 10:45 AM on June 16, 2008

Hello: Past charity head shaver here! My son and I decided to do this, and we raised $3000.00, with very little effort. Here are a few observations:

>Find a charitable event to tie in with the shaving:
--we did it for a specifc charity/event, namely a "Walk and Roll" fundraiser for our local Muscular Dsytrophy association.
>Make it personal:
--we chose this event because we have a neighbour who's daugter has MD, so we had some personal feeling invested. This will help when you are asking for money, and mention who it is for.
>Keep records
--our event had donation sheets, for income tax puproses, people feel more 'comfortable' signing up on these.
>Let as many people as you can know about it:
--depending on your own personal situation, this can mean church, schools, sports clubs, drinking buddies, whatever--it pays to advertise.
>if your hair is real long, make it look like crap
-- so when people comment on it, mention that you would love to, and by the way, you're raising money for this charity, and if you could spare a couple of bucks...
>if someone asks if you've reached your 'target' amount of money
--tell them you're close, just a little short, so if you could spare a couple of bucks...
>promise to shave in a public place
--at work, at a bar, whatever (we did it in front of the Church congregation...they LOVED it!)
>Get in touch with the organization you will raise the money for, they will be happy to provide you with anything you may need.

Anyways, just a few things I noticed; good luck with your shaving.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 10:59 AM on June 16, 2008

check that your employer is ok with this. some have their heads up their asses -- a girl recently did this to support cancer and she was fired. she had no legal recourse, unfortunately (in Vancouver, BC)
posted by randomstriker at 11:01 AM on June 16, 2008

I'm a stay-at-home mom, so employers are not an issue...I am a little worried it will freak the baby out, though!

Thanks for all the tips BozoBurger--I'd thought of some of them but certainly not all. Very helpful.
posted by not that girl at 1:45 PM on June 16, 2008

I shaved my head for Shave For A Cure, an Australia-wide charity event that supports research and care for leaukimia. I signed on as part of my college group.

SFAC was very helpful with giving us all the information - they had profiles for each participant online that took credit card donations, and gave us receipt books for donations in hand. Our coordinator took those books and money afterwards and banked them in.

Initially it was a little difficult because no one wanted me to shave my head. My girl group, the sort that would drop money on designer bags, gave me pittance because they kept insisting that I'd look ugly bald - "why do you want to lose your nice hair?!". It also didn't help that the online donation form didn't do international credit cards well.

I got most of my money on Shave Day - our coordinator booked a hairdresser to our college and we invited people to watch. I got most of the money for being the only girl - everyone just gave ME their spare change! The interesting thing is that I got most of my money from acquaintances - people I weren't that close to and didn't expect support.

It also helped that I ended up looking hot being nearly-bald. I got compliments for months. Even my parents were impressed (they weren't sure of the idea initially). I was a little worried when my head was being shaved, but I was more distraught for my boyfriend - he had long hair and did the Shave too, and when he was bald he looked like a footie hooligan! Argh! (now his hair is in a nice short length. mmm.)

Good luck, it's fun!
posted by divabat at 3:31 PM on June 16, 2008