The owner of a local hair salon put his own locks on the line to raise funds for Kelowna General Hospital.
Loyal Wooldridge and his team hosted an event at the Lexus Kelowna dealership on Sat. Nov. 19, to mark the 10 year anniversary of Loyal Hair Therapy.
There was dancing, a fashion show and a live auction, but the centrepiece of the evening’s festivities was when local media personalities Klaudia Van Emmerick and Cheryl Gillespie picked up the clippers and styled the stylists, leaving Wooldridge and new stylist Colin Ford, as bald as babies.
Wooldridge and Ford were prepared for the shearing and in preparation they took to social media to raise donations for the impending head shave. Event attendance was also opened up to the entire community, with tickets by donation.
“The best part is that the event was in honor of my late mother and Loyal Hair Therapy co-founder, Adele,” said Wooldridge, whose mother died unexpectedly this past fall at Kelowna General Hospital.
“Our wish is that this gift will support the work of the caring KGH nurses, doctors and support staff who so selflessly dedicate their time and hard work to saving lives and helping families cope in difficult times.”
After all was said and done, $9,250 was raised.
The funds were gifted to the KGH Foundation’s Giving Giggles campaign, designated specifically for the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment and patient care items for the NICU at KGH where every year, hundreds of pre-term and sick infants spend their first several weeks of life.
“This is a very difficult time of year for families to be in hospital,” said Chandel Christie, Annual Programs and Events manager at the KGH Foundation.
“We are incredibly grateful to Loyal and Colin and their community of support for the generous donation and also for sharing their wonderful energy with our patients and staff.”