25 years of Clipping for a Cure

Blood cancer impacts more than 140,000 Australian families and tragically 16 people in this country die from the condition every day.

Each year, our BGS community rallies together in support of the World’s Greatest Shave, which sees students, teachers, Senior Deputy Headmaster and Headmaster don a buzz cut to support of this worthy cause.

We colour, we shave, we wear wigs – all to raise funds for Australians living with blood cancer, of which the most common include leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Led by the School’s Public Purpose Program, students organise and promote the BGS World’s Greatest Shave, to raise funds and awareness for blood cancer throughout Term 1.

Each year, student participation grows and fundraising records are broken. In 2023, the BGS community raised a total of $50,000 to support the 50 people who are diagnosed with blood cancer every day, many of whom are children.

The 2023 campaign marked the 25-year anniversary of the School’s partnership with The Leukemia Foundation in support of the World’s Greatest Shave.

Reflecting on her time as a former Head of Year, BGS teacher Miss Sharee Verdon took a vested interest in the fundraising campaign.

“I had a student in my Year 8 cohort who had recently been diagnosed with leukaemia,” Miss Verdon shared.

“While he underwent chemotherapy and hospitalisation, I encouraged the boys in his class to have Zoom meetings at lunch with him, so he still felt connected to the school community.”

“Thanks to Parent Representative, Dr Jane Halliday, parents made frozen food packages to sustain the family during innumerable hospital visits and work.”

Miss Verdon challenged the boys to raise $20,000 in exchange to be part of shaving her head. It was a target they made sure they reached.

“He [the student] relished the opportunity to shave the first strip of my head,” she said.

The World’s Greatest Shave has become one of the major events on the Public Purpose calendar and it has a significant impact on the School’s culture.

The Public Purpose Program provides students with insight into the world beyond BGS and how giving back – no matter how big or small –can make a significant difference in the lives of others.