Ali’s locks of love for The Kyabram Gift

Ali was surrounded by family, friends and her students and colleagues from Kyabram P-12 College where she teaches — some in the audience even got in on the chopping action.

Once all the weight had been lifted off her shoulders — literally — she said, other than the slight shock of finding a scar on the back of her scalp, she felt quite liberated.

“There was a bit of shock of seeing my own face when I had no hair because I’ve had long hair for so long,” Ali said.

“But other than that, nothing really went through my head — it was more just ‘this is awesome and worthwhile’.”

The idea came about when she took her kids to the hairdressers at the beginning of the year and realised how long her hair really was.

“I was going to chop it off a bit because it’s been getting a bit long and obnoxious, but I kind of went, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of hair there — we could probably do something about that,’” she said.

She got on to The Kyabram Gift and by May the fundraiser was in motion.

In a whirlwind six and a half weeks filled with events to raise as much money and awareness as possible, she came out the other end with 45cm less hair on her head and $6500 to donate directly to The Kyabram Gift.

“There was not any point where I thought this was a bad idea, or I had made a mistake, or I regretted it or anything,” Ali said.

“The whole point of it is worth so much more than what my hair is to me.”

Ali and her family know what that worth is first-hand.

Ali’s first run-in with cancer was with her cousin, who got leukaemia twice over the course of a few years.

“Every time you talk to someone about cancer, it’s someone who has had it or knows someone who has had it, and it’s really rocked them, or they’ve passed away, and, in some way, their life has been changed in some way, shape or form,” she said.

“We’ve also just had a staff member who’s passed away just recently in the last few weeks from cancer — so it just hits home regardless of where you are or who you are.”

Donating to The Kyabram Gift was a no-brainer for Ali, who knows that whatever she makes from the fundraising, the money will go straight back into the Kyabram community.

The Kyabram Gift currently supports 27 local recipients, easing their burdens by funding essential needs such as medical bills, food and transport to appointments — providing crucial relief to families facing challenging times.

“It just makes you feel better because you know the money is actually being used successfully and not kind of just disappearing,” Ali said.

She has since found there are a few upsides to having a bald head.

“I’m looking forward to not strangling myself in my sleep … and I’m going to save a million dollars just on hair products,” she said.

However, the greatest reward comes each chilly morning when she dons a beanie, serving as a reminder of the impact she’s made on numerous lives in her community.

“I don’t think it is such a big thing because it’s just hair to me and it’ll grow back. I have that choice; whereas other people don’t,” she said.

“It’s really awesome because it touches so many people.”