Bognor man 'absolutely blown away' after head shave fundraiser for St Richard's Hospital smashes target

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
A charitable Bognor man has raised more than £1,300 to help staff at St Richard's Hospital combat the coronavirus — and he wants other men to join him in shaving their head.

Oli Hicklin set a target of £100 when considering whether to shave his head for charity but, after reaching that total within minutes, he is now on more than ten times that amount.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: "I wanted to raise £100 for the amazing staff at St Richards Hospital, so that they refuel on us as a thank you.

"We are all so grateful for what the NHS do for us 365 days a year and of course especially now. I thought this would be nice way of thanking them and showing our appreciation for all of them.

Oli is now hoping to start a trend and asked other men to follow suit in shaving their head to support other key workersOli is now hoping to start a trend and asked other men to follow suit in shaving their head to support other key workers
Oli is now hoping to start a trend and asked other men to follow suit in shaving their head to support other key workers | other

"A friend suggested I put some money behind their canteen and the rest is history."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

After asking his wife 'if she would mind', Oli stuck to his word and shaved his hair off. The first £1,200 was delivered to the hospital on Friday (April 3).

"I know a couple of nurses there and they are going to make sure that everyone is catered for," Oli said. "They will all have a free drink, snack and a bit of lunch.

"Everyone at St Richard's will hopefully have something.

"It's giving people something to smile about in these times. I think the NHS do an amazing job all year round. I've always been a massive supporter of them but especially so now."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On beating his fundraising target, he added: "I am absolutely blown away. I thought I might raise a couple of hundred quid at most so it's great."

Oli is now hoping to start a trend and asked other men to follow suit to support other key workers.

He added: "All men are at home not having to cut their hair so let's get everyone doing it and stick some money out there.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I am thankful to everyone and would love to do something for everyone. I'm sure people will do different things for other key workers."

To donate, visit Oli's GoFundMe page.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

In addition, please write to your MP urging the Government to provide some additional financial support for local newspapers and their websites like this one and ensuring that supermarkets continue to stock them. I cannot stress enough how important such an intervention would be.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.