Green Gecko Project | Fundraise for us | Lauren's head shave challenge!

brave to be bald... lauren's head shave challenge!

Lauren Joe first came to Green Gecko from New Zealand to volunteer for three months in 2009. She's better known to the Gecko kids as "Ruler" - a nickname that stuck after Yar couldn’t pronounce her name!

After returning home she decided to do a fundraiser and to shave off her lovely locks... but only if friends and family got on board the as her Green Gecko support crew and promised to donate a total of $5000. With her sister Tara on board they managed to surpass this and ended up sending over $6000 for the Geckos, a feat Lauren never would have dreamed possible!

The Gecko boys were so impressed that they decided to shave their heads too. Thank you, Ruler!

:: lauren's top tips for a successful head shave

1. Make the appeal personal. People feel much more comfortable donating to a cause they feel close to and YOU are their link! Talk, talk, talk, email, call, write to everybody you know, some people will be very interested and stories in newspapers, on websites and social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc) all raise awareness. The more people who know, the better!

2. Make donating as EASY as possible. I used an online website which worked very well but some people weren't able to donate online for a number of reasons, so I took donations and their comments and added them online myself.

3. Create some fun aspects. Some people felt it was a shame to shave such long hair and didn't want to donate for that reason, so my fundraiser morphed into a competition where people could use the amount of their donation to "vote" for me to shave or not shave! Of course I ended up shaving... And surprise! It really does grow back!!

4. Use your fundraiser to educate people about the Green Gecko Project. Give them the website, talk about your experiences with the Geckos, make the fundraiser not about you but about the cause.

5. I turned the actual shave into a fun night where people paid to snip off a section of my hair each, also we had collection buckets circulating - the night raised about 15% of the total amount! It was lots of fun and everyone felt part of the fundraiser and I hope, closer to the cause.

:: setting up your own fundraiser

Be a Gecko hero and set your own personal challenge! From fun runs to head shaves and even skydives... your challenge can be as creative as you like and is limited only by your imagination.

Setting up your own fundraising page gives you a quick and easy way to collect donations from family and friends around the world. Our fundraising sites process donations by credit card and automatically send out receipts... so all you need to do is decide on your own personal challenge and get started! To set up your fundraising page just follow the instructions for your country by clicking below. If you have any questions or need help, please drop us a line.