By JESSE GRAHAM
Judith McGrath, 70, marked birthday with a money-spinning shave
CHEERS erupted through Seville’s Have a Chat Cafe last Thursday when Judith McGrath’s brown locks were lopped off.
The 70-year-old marked her birthday on 23 October with a special fund-raising event, where her head was shaved to raise money for women with cancer.
The community responded strongly to Ms McGrath’s cause with friends, family and well-wishers filling the small cafe and offering a surge of donations, estimated to be totalling over $4000.
All the money raised from the event will go towards running Powelltown’s Heather’s Haven – a respite home available for women living with cancer to relax in with their families – which is run by the Yarra Valley Ladies in Pink (YVLiP).
Ms McGrath, a cancer survivor herself, said she was undecided about her new haircut, but was overwhelmed by the support she received.
“It’s a strange sensation – I didn’t lose my hair when I had cancer treatments,” she said.
“But it’s great when you see all these people supporting such a wonderful thing.
“I couldn’t believe so many people turned up.”
The head-shave was inspired as a fund-raising activity for Heather’s Haven, which was donated by the husband of a woman in the group in her memory and receives no outside funding.
Ms McGrath said she had no set fund-raising goal for the event, and that the shave had been organised around six weeks back.
“I just decided on the spur of the moment to cut my hair to raise funds,” she said.
“I was just hoping to raise money for Heather’s Haven and it’s gone viral.
“It’s absolutely marvellous – they’re local people giving money to help local women with cancer.”
She said she hoped the shave would help raise awareness for women in the Yarra Valley about the support available for those living with the disease, and that she would, with the group, lobby the government on women’s health in the coming year.
In a move of solidarity, Ms McGrath’s friend, Irene Hogton, had her hair dyed bright pink for the event, and even shaved off a lock or two.
Fellow Ladies in Pink member Judy Sturt congratulated Ms McGrath on her courage to take the shave, and said the funding would go a long way into helping women living with the disease.
“This has really helped us,” Ms Sturt said.
“There is a lot of fund-raising for trying to cure cancer, but they sometimes forget about the people who are living with it.”
In total, 49 people had stayed at Heather’s Haven in the eight years it has been run.
Yarra Ranges Council deputy mayor and Billanook Ward Councillor Maria McCarthy attended the shave and praised Ms McGrath’s efforts.
“She’s done so well to bring awareness to the community and to bring everyone together,” Cr McCarthy said.
As the hair was cleaned up and the event came to a close, the crowd sang happy birthday to Ms McGrath as two large cakes – marked 70 – were presented to her.
The Yarra Valley Ladies in Pink is made up of members from around the Yarra Ranges, and members range in age from 36 to 86.
Donations can still be made either in tins in shops around the Yarra Ranges or through the Wandin Seville Bendigo Community Bank.
