Head shave challenge takes off with more than £1,000 pledged
It started as a joke on Facebook but Claire Knowles is having to put her money where her mouth is and shave her head to raise money for the NHS.
Claire, 33 from Highley, had jokingly posted on Facebook that she might shave her head after seeing so many men posting about shaving their own hair during lockdown.
Her brother chimed in with an offer to give £50 to charity if she went ahead with it and in a matter of hours the challenge had taken off, and now more than £1,000 has been pledged to a gofundme page set up for the occasion by her friend Hayley Grove.
Claire, who currently has 20 inch hair extensions, said: "It started as a joke then loads of people jumped up and said they would donate so I was like 'oh no'. So I said I will raise £1000, no less or I am not doing it."
She added: "The next thing I know Hayley has set up a go fund me page which went from nought to £300 in ten minutes."
The page has now reached £1,153, leaving Claire no option but to go ahead with the challenge.
She said: "A lot of people still are not believing me. I will do it. They say if I am serious they will donate. I am deadly serious! I am seeing my face all over Facebook.
"We will Facebook Live it and my daughter will shave it off for me because obviously I want to go to the hairdressers for it but I can't."
She added: "My best friend is a hair dresser and she is like 'don't you dare'!"
Claire said she was happy to do something which would be able to help NHS workers during the coronavirus crisis.
She said: "We can all stand on our doorstep and clap, how many people are doing something to help. Put your money where your mouth is and donate to it!"
She added: "My mouth was always going to get me into trouble!"
Claire said she had initially been reluctant because: "Me and my brother look alike so I had put that I was too scared that I will look like him."
Claire, who has four children added: "It is a family effort, my brother started it, my son said he wants a new mum after because it is the only thing that makes me beautiful, and my daughter wants to shave it off!"
Anyone who wishes to add to the total can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/f/claire-will-shave-her-hair-for-nhs-staff
