First there was Chop Chop! followed by Poppy Gone Pixie!.

More recently we had Buzz Buzz!, so now I give you Buzzed!

Two weeks ago today I had a buzz cut for charity. I chose to fundraise for the wonderful Bebe’s Hive, who provide gentle, creative grief support to children and their families who are navigating loss.

In the week running up to the coffee morning, myself and a team of volunteers were packing jars full of sweets for the sweetie tombola, ticketing teddies for the teddy tombola, working out what was for which raffle (boozy or normal), doing the risk assessment, rearranging the chairs, sorting out the signage, checking the facepaint kit, emailing local businesses, going all out on social media, and sorting a whole load of other jobs!

I found myself a new hairdresser, and I went and got the ends trimmed so that the hair would be nice and healthy with no split ends, and can hopefully make somebody who needs it a nice, full wig. I explained to the new hairdresser what I was doing, and when I went to pay, he told me just to add it to my fundraiser!

There were so many times when individuals and businesses were incredibly generous. A couple of people from our church community emailed around local businesses and supermarkets for support and raffle prizes. Costco, Lidl, Crosby Leisure Centre, Waterfields, Make Your Mark and Merseyrail all donated, and on the day, a lovely fella from Tesco turned up with lots of goodies to sell and put on the raffle. People have been so amazing!

In the days beforehand, I was also preparing Sophia by watching videos of people having their heads shaved. I made a big deal of saying ‘oh, doesn’t she look beautiful!’ at the end. I also got a number of head bands which we looked through together, and she helped me choose one for the day once my hair was gone.

On the morning, Mum helped me get my hair ready. I sat at the kitchen table and we sung along to showtunes and hymns on Alexa. It was really special.

We then made our way to church and got organised. The coffee machine was switched on, the hotdogs were prepped, the tables were full of goodies and games, and we were ready to go!

People from all different areas of my life came to help or offered support online. My best friend from Uni and her partner came to help, our pals from Wales, people from my curacy church, friends from Breastfeeding Support Sefton, our lovely cleaner, one of Sophia’s friends from school and lots of others from our family and church community came to support me and join in the fun. I wish I could do it all over again so I could catch up with people more!

As the clock ticked towards 12, I started to feel a bit nervous. Then, our lovely placement student, Katie, came up to me and said that if we could get another £100 down on the table, she would have her head shaved too! I was speechless, and suddenly very nervous! I had had months to prepare and think this through – and here she was just offering to do it! I asked if she was sure a number of times, but she absolutely was.

12 came, I set the livestream going and grabbed the microphone. I am used to talking to people from the front in church, but this was completely different. There was such an energy in the room, with people crowded round and even stood on the tables for a good view. I shared with the room what Katie had told me and did we get £100 on the table? Way more than that, we got £341!

So, we cracked on! Mum and Nathan chopped off the bunches, and the buzzing began. I wasn’t as sad as I thought I’d be. If anything, after all that planning and anticipation, I was relieved! Aidan came and sat on my knee for a bit. He was gently curious, but took it all in his stride, clearly just thinking it was another crazy thing his Mum was doing! The weirdest moment was running my hands over my head for the first time – the look on my face is captured in the picture at the top!

Once I was done, it was Katie’s turn. Mum passed me the clippers and I got to do Katie’s hair – the brave woman! Then Andrew, our reader and treasurer, stepped forward and Katie did his hair. Lastly, Nathan decided he couldn’t miss out, and Katie passed the clippers to Andrew. All of this was unplanned – and I was both over the moon and stunned.

On the day, we were joined by a team from Bebe’s Hive. One lady, Florence, stood up at the end and thanked us. She said that when she had been through the worst thing in the world, she suddenly saw the best in people. Now, we might have done the fundraising and had our heads shaved. But it’s the courage and strength of Bebe’s family that has allowed this charity to be born. I am in awe of Bebe, Elsie and Alice’s parents, and I think that the way they have shone a light in the darkness is the most incredible thing. To have the Bebe’s Hive team there on the morning was really wonderful – and I will drink from my new Bebe’s Hive mug with absolute pride forever!

The rest of the day passed in a blur. More coffee was made, more cakes were bought, more faces were painted and the tombola even sold out! Eventually, we cleared away and got church back to normal. The carpet took some hoovering! The Hub had a none stop queue for three hours. I’ve never seen such a long till receipt!

My Dad and Rosie counted the cash in the office and I knew we had taken over £2000. With that alongside the amount online, we smashed the £3500 target.

Over the last fortnight, more and more money has come in, both in online donations and people slipping myself and Nathan a few notes. I am absolutely blown away to say that we have raised over £6000! This money will make a huge difference to local children whose little lives have been impacted by grief. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. If you’re yet to make a donation, the link is available here.

I’ll be in touch when my hair grown back and I’m ready to do it again in another 6 years time!

Poppy x