Shave for a Cure ads prompt decision for Te Puke care home manager

Te Puke Country Lodge care home manager Chris Boudet, with the remnants of her hair.

When Chris Boudet walks her dog in the morning, a hoodie is essential.

It's not just that the mornings are getting cooler, it's that she has no - or at least very little - hair.

Last week Chris, Te Puke Country Lodge care home manager, had her head shaved in support of Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's Shave for a Cure.

She says it was on a hunch that she decided it was a good way for her to raise money for the cause.

''I very much follow my intuition in a lot of the things I do,'' she says.

''I kept seeing the [Shave for a Cure] adverts everywhere and I thought, 'if I'm seeing them everywhere, there must be a reason'.''

One reason was that her workplace was conducive to collecting donations.

''I'm in a lucky position where I'm in a environment where its going to be easy for me because so many people come and go in the care home. Even if they only give me a dollar each, it's going to be easy to get quite a bit of money.''

Registering with Shave for a Cure brings an expectation that at least $500 will be raised.

''I thought I'm sure I get 50 people coming through the door within the next couple of weeks who will give me a dollar each - and we've actually exceeded that hugely so I'm very, very impressed.''

In the end Chris raised $1326.70.

''I am so grateful to everybody. I"m stoked with the result, the [retirement] village held a raffle, and friends and relatives of residents as well as residents - everybody's given
something.

''So many of the residents here are touched by cancer of one form or another and if it's not the residents it's the families and the relatives. Everybody knows somebody who's
been touched by the illness, so everything we can do has been great.''

Wayne Reid of He's and She's - who normally cuts rather than shaves Chris' hair - did the shave.

''I wondered if he'd be game for that so I said 'would you be up for it' and he said 'absolutely'.''

The head shave drew quite an audience in the care home.