Waitaki Girls High School pupil Rebekah Cochrane (pictured) will have her flowing locks lopped off at a special event at the Otematata Hotel, in an effort to raise $1000 for Leukaemia and Cancer New Zealand.
The 17-year-old said she had been raising money for more than a month in memory of a family friend who died from cancer.
''It has impacted on my life a lot, but a lot of people have gone through the same thing, so I wanted to put something back for them.''
She was nervous ahead of tonight's head-shaving ceremony, and said the next time she saw her hair
it might be on someone else's head.
''My hair will be sent to Dunedin to be made into a wig for someone who needs it.''
People can support her fundraising efforts through the www.shaveforacure.co.nz website. So far she had raised $800 through sponsorship and online donations, she said.
