Brandon Furtado has turned his overdue hair cut into a huge fundraiser thanks to the staff and students at Ladner’s Holly Elementary.
The teacher candidate and soon-to-be UBC graduate, was constantly hearing to get his hair cut after letting it grow out since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
“It was just going to be a short-term thing, then it got so long and I was thinking I should donate it. I had so many family members and friends who told me how ugly I looked with long hair,” laughed Furtado. “So it was like put your money where your mouth is and donate if you want me to get a haircut.”
Furtado decided he would donate his chopped hair to Wigs for Kids, the volunteer-run organization that provides funding to cover the cost of custom-made human-hair wigs for children and teens at B.C. Children’s Hospital. He also got staff and students involved in some fundraising for the program, promising to get his hair cut in front of the entire school.
“Wigs for Kids is an amazing charity. Especially being a teacher, working with kids my whole life. It’s just a great cause. I set an initial goal of $1,500 and wondered if I was being a little too ambitious?” he said.
Apparently not.
The school and community rallied behind his cause, easily passing the target. Furtado decided to take it further by agreeing to a mullet cut by teacher Juli Oldham. He then added a pie-in-the-face raffle for three lucky students. The end result was $5,125.05 raised.
The big day arrived on Thursday, April 14.
“There’s been a few different initiatives at our school and I think the students are just looking for something to feel good about and take action,” said Holly principal Jacquie von Schulmann. “When we put it out to the community, we were amazed by the response.”
