Year 12 Norton Hill student, Bethany Merrett, had her head shaved on Tuesday, 20th September to mark the fifteenth anniversary of her dad passing away, after suffering from mental health issues. Bethany used the opportunity to fundraise for local mental health charity, Mind, and donating her hair to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
As well as fundraising via justgiving, Bethany also sold raffle tickets to her fellow sixth form students, giving them a chance to cut her hair in return for donations.
Despite undergoing keyhole surgery to remove her appendix just days before, Bethany was determined to mark the anniversary of her dad’s death with the culmination of her fundraising events. She said: “I wanted to do this because it is almost as though my dad doesn’t get talked about and I wanted to bring him back into everyone’s lives.”
Bethany allowed her peers to cut her hair in the Sixth Form centre at Norton Hill School during lunchtime, while her classmates and family looked on and her friends collected further donations with buckets.
After the event, she said: “I feel great! A bit itchy, but great!”
Her uncle, Clayton Merrett, who finished up Bethany’s shave, said: “I want to thank everyone for their support, lots of people have mental health issues of some kind and this brings that to the forefront. If you are suffering, please speak to someone – please get help, and please be safe.”
Her mum, Therese, said: “The money is still coming in – we think by the time everything has been collected, we will be around the £1,600 mark, so it will be £800 for each charity.” Bethany’s family would also like to say a special thank you to Corporate Cleaning Solutions’ Jenny and Brett Townsend, who donated a considerable amount to her fundraising.