Haircutting campaign for mentors’ cause

THOUGH Christmas has come and gone, a fundraising program aimed at fostering connectiveness for young people is set to become a fixture for a local mentoring program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters’ youth led campaign Christmas Haircuts with Heart is aimed at raising funds to provide haircuts for local children aged between seven and 17 shortlisted or paired through the organisation.

The initiative was inspired by incoming BBBS mentee and fundraising volunteer Sonia Smith after her nine-year-old son Stan came up with the idea.

“Stan was thinking of ways to be involved,” she said. “The idea is to make a difference from one kid to another.

“I thought it was amazing of him. He’s very keen to be involved in working with young people with experiences. He’s very much trying to make a difference and haircuts seem to be a very simple thing.

“Going to the barbershop, you have the opportunity to express yourself and it’s a positive experience for kids.”

Ms Smith has also created a GoFundMe and social media pages to encourage further donations.

With more than $500 raised through BBBS, the cash is set to be pooled into $50 vouchers to be spent at hairdressers in the region.

The non-profit currently has about 50 kids shortlisted for the program, with eight matches and three people in the process of becoming mentors.

BBBS mentoring coordinator Jodie Downey said the campaign is an ingenious youth led concept that aligns with the non-profit’s values.

“It mirrors what we do in terms of giving young people the opportunity to have a bit of one-to-one time,” she said.

“You get that sense from a really good hairdresser that they’re really listening which is what we capture with the mentor relationship.

“That feeling of being paid attention to and being uplifted is what the mentor experience does for young people.

“In Ballarat we have our one-to-one mentoring program and we also have our small group program which is 10 kids with up to three mentors which focuses on positive social interaction and friendship building.”

Launched in early December, the initiative is set to continue past the holiday season and into the new year as an ongoing component for the program.

Donations can be made to the Ballarat program at bit.ly/3TjaTPO while Ms Smith’s GoFundMe page is at bit.ly/3GFxsqr.