Basingstoke councillors raise funds for St Michael's hospice

Councillors Simon Minas-Bound, Jay Ganesh and David McIntyre visited New Image Turkish Barbers in Tadley on Thursday, February 29, for a head-shaving fundraiser in support of St Michael's Hospice.

The supportive barber shop not only waived their fees for the unique haircut but also donated an additional £100 to the cause.

The idea for the fundraiser, named Bald Ambition, stemmed from the Conservative councillors' desire to help the hospice bridge a budget shortfall caused by 2024 being a leap year.

READ MORE: Indian restaurant hosts quiz night to raise money for hospice

Cllr Ganesh said the trio thought it would be good to gather around and do a charity activity, that might be helpful for the hospice. 

“Being the local councillors, we wanted to do something to help the charity with the shortfall, which was around £14,000,” Cllr Ganesh said.

“St Michael’s Hospice is one of the charities within our ward that serves a lot of residents who's gone through the cancer treatment in the past or end of life care. It has been within the community for a very long time. So it is something really important to us councillors.

“We all have someone in our family who have had some sort of encounter with cancer. So we thought the hospice needs to be helped, and it's a good cause to support. Hence three of us decided to put this together. The hospice was also really keen on supporting us collecting some funds for them.”

Cllr Ganesh said the hospice set up a fundraiser page for them. Although the initial target was £500, they surpassed it and raised just under £800 as of Sunday, March 10.

He added: “It was very kind of New Image Turkish Barbers to support our fundraiser.”