Clubhouse

This fundraiser a cut above

A lengthy mop of hair was transformed into a brush cut when two “trash-talking Kiwanis members” followed through on a fundraising challenge, The Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) Post reports.

Steve Gillespie’s lengthy hairdo, according to newspaper clippings, stood out among members of his Kiwanis Club of Sydney, Nova Scotia, since he began growing it in February 2006. This past November, fellow member Wayne Weatherbee apparently had enough of Steve’s “free-spirited ways” and began taunting him into lopping off his locks.

In fact, over the course of several club meetings, Wayne offered Steve money, beginning with CDN$100, then $200, and finally $500 to charity. That last offer caught the attention of Steve, who is chairman of the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic at Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

“I will let you cut my hair yourself,” Steve told Wayne during a club luncheon, “if you donate $1,000 to the cardiac clinic.” Unknown to Steve: Wayne moved quickly from table to table to get the extra money to force Steve into the barber’s chair. By the time the last of Steve’s locks hit the floor, $2,000 had been raised for the cardiac clinic.