Multiple fathers had their children cut their hair as part of the Cutober fundraiser in Kamloops (Submitted photo/Nathaniel Martin).

By Aaron Schulze

Cutober

Children cut their fathers’ hair in mental health fundraiser

Oct 9, 2021 | 2:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — Cutober, the fundraiser in Kamloops where parents let children cut their hair, got a head start for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Organizer Nathaniel Martin says their hair cut fundraiser at Aberdeen Mall last week raised over $600 to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and Kamloops Sexual Assault Counseling Centre (KSACC). As of Saturday (Oct. 9), more than $300 has been raised online.

Martin cut his father’s hair, had his hair cut by his daughter, and multiple men had their hair cut by their children.

“This is a moment you have a chance to bond with your children in a unique way, while also helping the community,” Martin told CFJC Today.

Martin came up with the fundraiser last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, after his daughter kept brushing his hair and eventually wanting to cut it.

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“I said: ‘let’s do something different and let you cut it,’” Martin says. “At the time last year, we came out of all the pandemic shutdowns, and maybe we should do something about the mental health wellness of our community. We don’t just want to give a handout; we want to give a hand up. Let’s help these people be worth more and feel valued.”

Martin was pointed towards KSACC and CMHA. He says he was told by KSACC that once phonelines were open again they had an influx of calls from women around the community in relations to the violence they were starting to see when bars were closed but liquor stores were left open. He adds CMHA had a lot of calls from parents with adult children at home feeling left in the dark.

It won’t be known if Cutober 2021 will match or surpass last year’s total of $4,000 until Nov. 2, as Martin says donations are still incoming. While Mental Health Awareness Week ends Oct. 9, Cutober is still taking donations online until the month’s end.