Last week Richard Cassidy had all his lovely long locks shaved off in order to raise funds for SNAC. He has raised over £2000 already! His story is well worth a read and you can see it all happening right here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CkVQpegtTg
SNAC would like to say a massive thank you to Richard and his support team for this amazing fundraiser and to everyone who has donated. We couldn’t run SNAC without you. If you would like to donate to Richard’s fundraising page it is here https://scottishnetworkforarthritisinchildren.enthuse.com/pf/richard-cassidy
Richard’s Story
I have ALWAYS wanted long hair… ever since catching sight of hardman Steven Segal’s glorious locks in 1990’s Hard To Kill!
Now, in 2022, I’ve finally achieved my dream 😃 – and after growing it for more than 2.5 years I’m going to shave it all off to raise money for a great cause!
What is JIA?
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) affects children and adolescents under the age of 16. It has no known cause and is a chronic (long-lasting or constant) inflammation of the joints. It affects 1 in 1,000 people under 16.
In simple terms, the body’s immune system attacks itself, causing inflammation and pain in the joints which can eventually lead to seized joints, immobility, and permanent physical disfigurement. It’s really not very nice.
Why SNAC?
SNAC does wonderful things for children living with JIA, including local events, carer information days, and family weekends away. These events offer children and parents/carers access to leading paediatric rheumatology experts (outside hospital environments and limitations of clinic hours) and bring people together to form a community and offer emotional support.
My wife has been living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for almost 20 years. It’s not “something old people get that makes them a bit achy”, as I would’ve presumed many years ago. It’s a disease for which there is no cure (although steady progress is being made, like most chronic illnesses).
I have three children (aged 7, 5, and 3) and thankfully there are no signs of JIA. But whenever they tell me about a sore leg, aching arm, or some other pain that is probably just a bump from that day’s playing, I find myself panicking inside that maybe they’re more likely to develop JIA in an hereditary way (there is no evidence that happens, but also two of my cousin’s children had JIA so it all plays on my mind).
Those thoughts and my appreciation for what it takes to live with RA bring into sharp focus what the children and families living with JIA have to deal with every day. That’s why I want to play my part in raising awareness and support.
I’m also pleased to say my hair will be donated to Little Princess Trust!
In summary…
I’ve never shaved my head so I’m focusing on the poetic tale of going from one life first to another, in a matter of minutes…! 😬
The big day will be 26 August. Please give whatever you can, all donors will get a link to watch the shave on a live stream and I’ll send a copy of the recording after.
Thanks,
Richard x
p.s. I work at a company called Dayshape and our head of marketing marketing came up with “Dayshave”, so that’s the story there. Hopefully that clever play on words can help our social media team spread the word further. 📢 📢 📢 📢 📢