A WOMAN from Woosehill will be starting 2017 by sporting a new look – as she shaves her head for charity.
Sandra Ostridge, 53, will brave the shave on New Year’s Eve to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her mother, Helen Kinch, who passed away last year aged 75.
Sandra said: “When Mum was sick, she shaved her hair off and we all thought she was terribly brave and composed about it. It wasn’t until we were clearing through her things after she’d died that I found a lock of her hair in an envelope, and realised it must have affected her a lot more than she let on.
“I should have joined her and shaved my head at the time, but I never got round to organising it. She died just over a year ago, in November 2015, so I thought now would be a good time to honour her and do something for charity as well.”
And Sandra is keeping the cutting of her hair in the family too, as it will be her daughter Chelsey, 25, carrying out the task.
Sandra explained: “Chelsey is a hairdresser at Inspirations Hair and Beauty, in Denmark Street, and she has booked me in for her last appointment on New Year’s Eve. I am hoping that family and friends will come along to give me some support on the day.”
Sandra, who works as a Behavioural Specialist at Foundry College, has set herself a target to raise £1,000 for the hospice charity which looked after her mother in her final days.
She said: “Mum spent her last days at the Sue Ryder Hospice in Nettlebed, but it was all arranged by Macmillan and she had their nurses seeing her throughout her treatment.
As well as raising money for them, I decided to donate my hair to the Little Princess Trust, who make wigs for children with cancer. My hair is quite long so hopefully they will be able to use it and my donation can be twofold!”
Sandra will be shaving her hair at 2.45pm at Inspirations Hair and Beauty on Saturday, December 31. To sponsor her visit https://bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/sandra-ostridge.
