Biggleswade woman to brave shave for Sue Ryder charity

A Biggleswade woman with a big heart is having her head shaved to help the Sue Ryder charity battle through the coronavirus crisis.
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Sarah Lankshear, 40, will say goodbye to her colourful hair on June 17 to mark her birthday and what she hopes will be the end of lockdown.

Kind Sarah has already surpassed her target of £250 and is thankful to the community for coming together in honour of the Moggerhanger hospice and the good work the charity does up and down the country.

Sarah said: “I saw in the papers that they were struggling for funds because their charity shops were closed.

Sarah, a cleaner at ‘Jordans Ryvita’, has now dyed her hair blue.  It hasn’t been its natural colour since she was 18.Sarah, a cleaner at ‘Jordans Ryvita’, has now dyed her hair blue.  It hasn’t been its natural colour since she was 18.
Sarah, a cleaner at ‘Jordans Ryvita’, has now dyed her hair blue. It hasn’t been its natural colour since she was 18.

“I want to raise money so they can stay open and help people. I thought I could do running or walking, but I walk a lot anyway!

“I’m feeling pretty nervous, but the more publicity we can get, the more money we can raise.”

The charity has featured in the Chronicle and on our website recently after announcing that it expects to lose £12m in the next three months and warned that it could be forced to close its hospices and hospice-at-home services.

Sarah also has a personal reason for supporting the charity, as it cared for her friend, Judy Pomfrey, who died last year.

Sarah added: “A lot of people think I’m brave but I don’t see that myself.

“I’m not the brave one - it’s the people in the hospices receiving palliative care and the nurses. All I’m doing is shaving my head!”

Sarah, whose hair is shoulder length and currently dyed blue to support the NHS, has raised £300 so far.

She is hoping her friend Beth Doerffer and her children will be able to come round and cut her hair - but if the lockdown is still in place she will shave it herself.

The Sue Ryder charity supports people through the most difficult times of their lives, whether that’s a terminal illness, the loss of a loved one or a neurological condition.