Jersey boy aims to cut hair and help Alderney's bats!

Sunday 18 February 2018

A six-year-old boy from Jersey is trying to raise enough money to win a haircut fundraiser - with the surplus hair being made into a wig for people who have lost theirs through illness, and the proceeds boosting bat research in the Channel Islands.

Devin Binet wouldn’t dream of having his own luscious locks cut - but now he has the opportunity to cut his mum’s friend’s hair in the fundraising competition.

His mum Ani told Express that Devin liked the idea of hair being donated for wigs after, “...he saw a boy a few years above him at school have his hair cut off to help children who have lost their own hair through cancer… he’s excited by the idea of other people benefiting, but wouldn’t go through it as he’s very precious about his own hair.” An opportunity to cut Kate Sharma’s hair has left him “really excited.”

Kate has decided to chop her 18-inch long tresses to be made into a wig for those who have lost their own hair through illness. But she’s put a little twist on the fundraiser to make it more challenging, by raising money for four charities with a competition between them to see who can raise the most money. The winner not only benefits with the cash for their charity – but also becomes Kate’s hairdresser to make the big chop!

This is the prize Devin is eyeing up. His mum Ani nominated 'Annyctalus Ecology' - a Jersey registered non-profit organisation - as one of the charities to benefit from Kate’s hair cut, after the pair met through the Jersey Bat group which Kate said was “the first opportunity to make friends” when she moved to the island in 2009 - friends she has kept since returning to the UK in 2013.

Pictured: Kate has set up a fundraiser which could see her have to cut off her own hair while blindfolded. 

Ani has set a target goal of £860 to buy a SM4 bat detector with microphone which will be sent on a long-term loan to the Alderney Wildlife Trust.

Ani told Express the equipment has been vital for Jersey Bat Group to discover new bat species and roosting sites.

She said: “We’re doing autumn swarming and hibernation research and we are trying to find out the movement of bats within the Channel Islands.” The weather proof equipment would enable the Alderney Wildlife Trust and the Jersey Bat Group to “get recordings all night, every night for up to three weeks which will give a really good indication on levels of altitude and species (…) the information we get is really important to help build a picture of [bat habits and movement in] the Channel Islands.”

Pictured: Ani Binet carrying out research into bat population and habits in the Channel Islands.  

But Devin and Ani have tough competition, as the other three charities include the Harrington Scheme which would see Kate’s hair be cut by a pair of garden sheers, The British Heart Foundation where a man dressed as an inflatable T Rex would try and chop the locks, or The Alzheimer’s Society chosen by Kate herself, who would have to cut her new hairdo blindfolded.

But according to Kate, “...the first donations have come from people in Jersey who I haven’t seen in a few years, which is really lovely” putting Devin in the lead and achieving a third of the total fundraising goal of £2,460.

The fundraiser is running for two months when the winner will be selected on April Fool’s Day. If Devin and Ani can get enough support to be crowned champions, Kate will travel over to Jersey for Devin to make the chop, which she said is a win-win situation, as even if she doesn’t raise that much money she says “the hair will still be made into a wig so someone will benefit.”

You can find out more information on the fundraiser here.