THUNDER BAY - Joshua Stovel has been growing his hair for more than two years and in an instant, it was all gone, and while his new haircut may not be what he had in mind, he knows the money raised will go on to help many people facing a difficult diagnosis and will carry on the memory of a family member who recently passed away.
“My cousin Chris Hacio passed away from brain cancer, so I linked up with his daughters who started Beanie’s for Brain Cancer, and we came together and did this in honour of their dad,” Stovel said.
And with that came Buzz 4 Brain Cancer, where Stovel said he would raise $5,000 for the Princess Margaret Hospital, where Chris received treatment.
But when it was time to plan the event and cut off all that hair, Michael Muia with Michael’s Hair Design, suggested they go even bigger.
“Josh wanted to raise $5,000 and if he did he would cut his hair,” said Andrea Hacio, Chris’s daughter. “We raised that in less than a month and then we went to Michael and asked him if he would cut his hair and he said why don’t we do a bigger event and try to raise $10,000 locally.”
Thanks to a full house Wednesday night at the Sleeping Giant Brewery, more than $10,000 was raised and will be donated to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
“This is in memory of our dad and our father spent time in the regional, so we wanted to give back to the regional,” Andrea said. “It means so much. Josh is part of the family, he is my dad’s second cousin. Our family has been so supportive through this all. It has been a tough year, but with the support it’s made it a lot easier.”
And even though Stovel’s friends, who raised $1,000 and got to choose the haircut he would be stuck with for at least a week, it was definitely worth it knowing where the money is going and who it will help.
“The amount of support was unreal,” he said. “Originally our goal was just $5,000 but we hit that goal pretty quick. From there it just kind of skyrocketed and tonight even seeing the donations come through was unreal.”
The support has also helped family and friends deal with the loss of Chris, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2018 and passed away in February 2019.
“I think it’s really important for everyone to come together,” Stovel said. “Even though it is a hard time, when everyone is together, everyone is a lot happier and everyone is more supportive and it’s easier to get over such a hard time when everyone is surrounding you and being so supportive about it.”
“Coming here and seeing the Sleeping Giant packed full of people and raising so much money means more to us than anyone would ever know,” Andrea added. “We know our dad is up there looking down and so proud of everyone.”
