Xavier College has a fantastic tradition of partaking in the World’s Greatest Shave every year. The World’s Greatest Shave (WGS) is a fundraising event conducted by the Leukaemia Foundation which is an Australian foundation that raises money for desperate research into finding a cure for blood cancer. Every day, 53 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer and every day, 16 Australians die because of it. A cause worth fighting for.
I volunteered to run the fundraising, promotion and planning of the WGS early in the year. Head of Student Culture, Mr Michael Aldcroft, and I, would have been incredibly happy to achieve a target of $30,000 raised given we only had a month to raise funds and organise the event. But as I researched more and developed a stronger connection to this amazing foundation I became more determined than ever to not only pass $30,000, but to double it.
I knew this feat would not be easy so I called on the powerful Xavier community for assistance and they came in the masses. 69 members of the staff and student body volunteered to shave. A record number. Through this backing, I had the confidence to make posters, do a podcast, and speak at assembly. Anything to raise money for a great cause.
It got to the stage where it was nearly a full-time job for me. Printing off and putting up posters, calling family members, writing emails to students and parents and refreshing the WGS website constantly at all hours of the night and day, watching the donations continuing to flow on until we reached our final total of $79,512.94.
The end total would not have been possible without the 69 volunteers who sacrificed their hair for a cause that could not have been more worthy.
I am so incredibly proud of all the boys who raised donations to raise a record Victorian School total, a total that was the third highest in Australia. Not bad for just a small group of boys!
This experience has taught me the importance of, and how strong a community can be when everyone rallies together to achieve a goal that is for the greater good of a group in desperate need of help. This experience resembles what it means to be a Xaverian with a school theme of “Sursum Corda” which translates to “lift up your hearts” All 69 boys lifted up their hearts on March 16 2023 to achieve something truly remarkable.
For more information
Xavier College
Xavier College was founded in 1878 and is a Jesuit school. The Senior Campus stands on 40 acres, 6 kilometres […]