Laurie Flavin, Jennifer Collins and Ann Miller after Laurie and Ann shaved their heads to raise money for Jennifer in Lunenburg on September 12.
One of my favorite occupational perks is getting to know a bit about a lot of people. While I am not a close friend of Jennifer, I have enjoyed the unique rapport with her that my job offers.
I remember telling Jenn that I hope my grandson will grow up to be as fine a young man as her sons. I also recall saying I hope we will have the closeness that she has with them.
What happened last spring was tragic enough, but the circumstance makes it a double tragedy.
Early fundraisers, organized by Jennifer’s friend Lisa Tanner, were well supported, but as the time approached for Jenn to come home from rehab, there was nothing.
Feeling frustrated at being unable to provide any therapeutic support, I came up with the idea of getting a bunch of women together to shave their heads and raise some money through sponsorship pledges. Ann Miller was the only woman who would join me.
Darlene Mosher and Heather Acker of Shades of U hairdressing salon volunteered to do the shaving honors.
The Fishermen’s Seafood Festival gave us a spot in their schedule of events on September 12, 2009.
Three weeks before the event, Anne Curtin and her husband Joseph Carnevale came into my office with their 10 year old daughter Aisling – they all wanted to shave their heads and fundraise. They could not attend the big shave, so they shaved early, and in two weeks, raised $150.00. They do not know Jennifer.
We managed to raise $4,300.00 going into the shave, and another $600 at the event. Sadly, this is a drop in the bucket. If Jennifer is to achieve her dream of receiving stem cell therapy, or her more immediate need for a wheelchair van, many more people need to help. To that end we are setting up this website – jennifercollins.org – with a link to donate online. We also want to put together a video for YouTube and are looking for some help with that.
- Dr. Laurie Flavin
