Close Cuts for Cancer breaks fundraising record

Brayden Ottenbreit’s Close Cuts for Cancer celebrated its’ 25th anniversary and set a new record this weekend, raising $66,863.10.

Dickson Delorme, a Saskatchewan Youtuber commonly known as ‘Quick Dick McDick’ was a driving force behind the fundraising, raising almost $56,000 with his save it or shave it campaign.

“I guess my beard is kind of my persona,” he explained. “So to show that I meant it, I put my beard on the line and I put it out my social media following, and I said ‘hey, you can donate to save it or you can donate to shave it and whoever raises the most money wins.’”

‘Shave it’ had the most support and Delorme said goodbye to his beard that was three years in the making.

“I haven’t seen my chin in over three years. I never expected it to get this big and here we are now,” said Delorme.

Among other fundraisers was a nurse and mother Roshni Christian. Christian had come to Canada on a student visa and had been trying to reunite with her daughter, who was in India for more than ten years.

“I made a pledge in August when I was praying, that if my daughter will get a visa in September 2021, only in September 2021, then I will offer my head (hair) to one if the cancer charities,” said Christian.

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Brayden Ottenbreit's Close Cuts of Cancer has expanded its reach across the country, impacting people like Christian and many others, but for parents and Co-founders Greg and Leone Ottenbreit it will always be about Brayden Ottenbreit.

“For our family it will always be about Brayden, but for everybody else, there’s so many people that have been affected by cancer. And it’s such an endless feeling to be on the outskirts when somebody is battling this disease,” said Leone.

The Ottenbreits started the fundraiser in 1998 when their son was diagnosed with Ganglioneuroblastoma.

According to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan it’s a cancer between malignant and benign, and it was intertwined throughout Brayden’s spine.

“So a bunch of men shaved their heads so he wouldn’t be the only bald one in town. The next year he shaved his head, he was well enough to participate, he wasn’t well enough the first year.”

Brayden died in February of 2000 before the third event.

“We said, well, we’re not going to do it anymore,” Leone explained. “But the community said you know what do it one more time. We renamed it in his honour and here we are, 25 years later.”