Brian Jarratt, a workaholic Earthmoving contractor from Hay, cherished his beloved beard for 34 years.  

But he recently shaved it off, and in doing so raised an astonishing $15,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

“He works such long hours he’s never had time to shave. His kids wanted him to get rid of it for his 50^th birthday, but he resisted,” Judy, his wife said. 

The Star family from Goolgowi called on the generous support of the community in their fundraising campaign – the inspiration behind their efforts being the loss of their son. The family raised $13,000 on top of Brian’s effort, so a total of over $28,000 was provided to help more Australians beat blood cancer.

The Star family and friend’s amazing efforts saw them take out the position of 8th highest fundraiser across NSW and ACT, an incredible feat considering Goolgowi has a population of less than 300.

“It seemed the bigger than company, the less generous the donation. Most of what we raised came from the small family-operated businesses,” Judy said. 

“Brian has since let his beard grow back, though. He said it keeps him warm in winter. But it was nice that his children could see his face for the first time.”

Every day, 35 people will be diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders and they’ll turn to the Leukaemia Foundation for help.

The world’s greatest shave is an annual fundraising event for the Leukaemia Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping those with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders survive and then live a better quality of life. It relies generous and ongoing support of the Australian community.

By raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation, people make a difference by giving families fighting blood cancer the emotional and practical support they need. Donations also fund critical medical research that will help more people beat their blood cancer.

Learn more about blood cancer and how you can beat it visit their website at www.leukaemia.org.au.