‘If I was crying, it wasn’t about my head being shaved; it was about the impact the night had and seeing all this support in the room.”
Bobby Brar is still getting used to looking in the mirror and realizing all her hair is gone, after a fundraising head-shave at Legends Pub last weekend saw her raise around $7,000 for children’s charity Wigs for Kids BC, CIBC Run for the Cure and the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
As well as raising funds for charity, hairdresser Brar and her brother, Paul, organized the event to mark the 10th anniversary of their mom, Rajinder, losing her battle with breast cancer.
“I’m still not used to my reflection; but it is saving me a lot of time in the morning,” Bobby joked to the Richmond News.
“I felt empowered (right after the shave). I was surprised how I looked and people couldn’t believe how much I looked like my mom. Paul said the same.
“My mom brought a lot of people together in her life and when I looked around the room, I realized I had managed to do that, as well, so it was very emotional. It made me feel very connected to her.”
Around $1,900 of the $7,000 raised at Saturday’s event came solely from the live auction for the haircut.
“That $1,900, as well as my hair, is going to Wigs for Kids BC,” said Bobby.
“There wasn’t a donation less than $120 and it went up to $300. It was amazing.
“The rest of the money is getting split between the Richmond Hospital Foundation, where there’s an account in our mom’s name, and the CIBC Run for the Cure in Vancouver.”
Bobby said she didn’t, at first, realize that she’d managed to sell all 130 tickets for the fundraiser that packed out Legends, on Blundell and Garden City roads, as well as 4,000, 50/50s tickets (which her sister won before putting all the winnings back into the pot).
“I’ll be honest, I was so focused on the haircut and collecting donations that I barely looked up,” Bobby said.
“When it came to the time of the haircut and auction though, I did look up and, while Paul and (Legends owner) Glen were electrifying the crowd, I could see the place was full and how much love there was in the room. It was very powerful.”
Bobby has entered a team in next month’s CIBC Run for the Cure in Vancouver and is currently in the top 10 for online fundraisers.
Bobby’s brother told the News last week how his sister shaved their mom’s head during chemotherapy many years ago, as she battled cancer.
