A Haircut to Remember

It’s always encouraging to hear what goes on across our services – hearing stories of hope and finding out some of the home touches that are brought into life across New Hope. One that brought a smile to my face a few weeks ago was hearing about a pop-up barber shop in the Sanctuary. A service user had some experience cutting hair, so one night decided to plug in his razor, put some music on and give some of our residents a fresh trim. Its home touches like this that provide, even though brief, relief from the harsh realities of homelessness.

One of our fundraising heroes over the past few months has been Kika Watford, who ended up doing something similar to help provide that relief. At the start of 2018, Watford Joggers got in contact and said that as a group they had decided to fundraise for New Hope over the next few months. Kika wanted to play her part and decided take up the hair-raising task of shaving her head. She got a poster made, the date booked in, a fundraising page set up and went for it.

By the end of the event on 23rd March, Kika had raised a staggering total of £2521.78 from this event alone. To put that in context, that’s 73 people that could have access to a hot meal, a bed and support for one night.

Reflecting on her experience, Kika said:

“We chose to nominate New Hope as our charity of the year because, as a club, we like to be connected with the local community. Running around the streets of Watford it is ever more noticeable that homelessness, rough sleeping and precarious housing is an issue in Watford, as it is nationally. We wanted to show that we care as a local club for those less fortunate than ourselves. We wanted to do something positive to not only raise funds but also to highlight the facilities and services that New Hope offers to those who find themselves in need of advice or emergency housing. Shaving my hair off seemed a small sacrifice if it meant that it raised much needed funds for this very worthy cause."

On behalf of everyone at New Hope, I want to say a massive thank you to Kika and the rest of Watford Joggers for their dedication in supporting New Hope for the year. It’s people like you that help us push forward in our mission to prevent homelessness and transform lives. You inspire us all to continue our work, but more importantly you help us provide moments of relief to those who are the most vulnerable in Watford.

Thank you,
 

Sam Weightman – Fundraising & Communications Officer