Young Academics be brave and shave, contributing to leukaemia fundraising

The head office of early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider Young Academics was transformed into a barber earlier this week when ‘young guns and club legends’ from the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NRL team were in attendance to shave and colour their hair to raise money for leukaemia research as part of the World’s Greatest Shave.

Connor Tracey, Reed Mahoney, Josh Reynolds and Terry Lamb joined five staff from Young Academics to support the work of the Leukaemia Foundation, which is being tracked on the dedicated fundraising page where enrolled families, team members and the wider community can donate to the cause.

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are partners of Young Academics, and were also on hand to support the professional hairdressers who were entrusted with the honours to cut and colour team members’ hair – and collect longer locks to donate for wig-making for those undertaking cancer treatment.

Connor Tracey, a new member of the Bulldogs had his hair spray painted blue and purple by teammate Reed Mahoney, while former  Bulldogs and NSW Blues star Josh Reynolds also worked his hairdressing magic, re-fashioning rugby league great Terry Lamb’s hair into his signature 1980s mullet before completing the shave, and cutting 46 centimetres from the formerly long locks of YA employee Madison Langworthy.

“We are committed to making a positive impact beyond our own walls, to contributing to causes which matter, and to encouraging others to get involved. That’s why we are proud to provide this meaningful opportunity for our YA team members and Bulldogs partners to come together to make a difference,” Young Academic’s Managing Director James Kazzi said.

“Joining forces with the Bulldogs has created many opportunities for us to learn from each other and make a positive impact on the communities where we operate, and we are honoured to work side-by-side with the club’s passionate players and management team.” 

Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton said he was proud of the Bulldog’s players and family members for volunteering to take part in the initiative to help raise awareness and vital funds, which he hopes will spur people to get involved and to donate during March. 

Learn more about Young Academics here.