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Two Dunedin hairdressers are pulling an all-nighter to collect money for charity.
Zen Hair co-owners Liana King-Biddulph and Hayley Cron will hold a 24-hour haircut marathon to raise funds for the Otago Community Hospice.
The women will be joined by about 15 volunteer hairdressers to operate four salon chairs continuously, starting at 1pm on Sunday, October 3.
Miss Cron said she had seen the impact of the support the hospice provided firsthand, including through a friend who died.
“I think when you go through those services, you understand how important they are,” Miss Cron said.
Her personal experience sparked a desire to back the cause, particularly after realising how much funding the organisation required each year.
“I’d read an article about how much money they needed … it’s like $13,000 a day.”
Mrs King-Biddulph said this was the second time they had hosted the 24-hour event.
“I just love doing charity work in general,” Mrs King-Biddulph said.
The women aimed to organise a community initiative each year, with a major fundraising effort every other year.
“Every second year we do a bigger one because there’s months that go into planning this.
“But every other year we do something smaller for the community.”
Previous fundraisers for bowel cancer and leukaemia charities had raised thousands of dollars.
The pair had also taken part in community outreach such as providing free haircuts for Ōtepoti-Dunedin Whānau Refuge, co-ordinating toy donation appeals for Presbyterian Support Otago and collecting items for Dunedin foodbanks.
For the 24-hour haircut event, the minimum price for a cut and style is $55 and all proceeds go directly to the hospice.
Clients need to arrive with clean, dry hair to save time and get more people through the door.
Miss Cron said some clients donated far more than the asking price during previous efforts.
“We had a girl last time and she brought in like $800.
“She said ‘look I just did a whip-round around work’.”
The day had a very good vibe, she said.
“We’ve got drinks and nibbles and so people will come in and buy a raffle and have a drink.
“It is a really amazing day.”
Community support for their past charity work proved inspiring.
“It’s so often amazing to see how many beautiful people and giving people, caring people and people who just want to do good things are out there.”
Visitors can stop by the salon during the event have a drink, buy raffle tickets or drop off contributions even without booking a haircut.
The salon is seeking further prize donations from local businesses.
Haircut bookings and offers of raffle prizes can be made by emailing contact@zenhair.co.nz.