Luscious locks face chop- Donna Donovan’s luscious locks face the chop next month as she shave

By Tania Martin
DONNA Donovan is braver than most.
The 49-year-old Mount Evelyn woman is getting ready to join hundreds of Australians in the World’s Greatest Shave next month.
But Ms Donovan said shaving off her hair was not such a big deal and it was all for a good cause.
She has spent the past three growing her auburn shoulder length locks and will have to start from scratch after the big shave.
The shave aims to raise cash and awareness for the Leukaemia Foundation in a bid to find a cure.
Money raised is also used to support families and patients living with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other cancer related blood disorders.
Ms Donovan has experienced the shock and despair over a relative and several close friends being diagnosed with cancer.
Last year her family was devastated when her aunty was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma.
“I have also had a couple of friends in past couple of years who have had cancer,” Ms Donovan said.
Ms Donovan said it was a huge shock when her aunty was diagnosed.
“She’s very lucky and she is still with us but she not out of the woods yet,” she said.
Ms Donovan said she wasn’t just taking the plunge to support people like her aunt.
“It really struck a cord with me that the shave mentions supporting families and that is also one of the reasons why I wanted to do it,” she said.
“I think it’s about the person with cancer but it’s also about their support networks, daughters, sons and grandchildren… it affects the whole family.”
Ms Donovan said her aunt’s diagnosis had a huge impact on how she looks at life.
“It changed the way we all thought about our lives,” she said.
“It gave us all more understanding of the whole impact cancer can have on your family.”
But despite the shock of the lymphoma, Ms Donovan said the whole family pulled together in their hour of need.
Ms Donovan will also shave her hair to coincide with turning 50 this year and to celebrate International Women’s Day in March.
She hopes to raise as much as she can for the cause and will be shaving off her locks at her home in Mount Evelyn on Friday 12 March from 7.30pm.
Ms Donovan’s uncle, a barber, will be doing the honours.
Anyone wanting to donate to Ms Donovan or to the World’s Greatest Shave should log onto www.worldsgreatestshave.com.au.