CSA Senior Mining Engineer, Owen Wells has shaved off his beloved beard (and his hair) in an effort to raise funds for the Red Nose Grief and Loss support group.
Owen’s CSA teammates are in full support of his efforts and yesterday helped him to reach a total of $7,400.
Owen, who has worked at the CSA Mine for the past six and a half years, was prompted to fundraise for Red Nose Grief and Loss after he and his wife Toni suffered a miscarriage last year.
“On being discharged from hospital we were not given any information or details of where we could find support – we were just told ‘you can go home now’. We felt lost,” Owen said.
He said it was friends that directed them to Red Nose Grief and Loss for help.
“Red Nose offer great support for parents and families affected by pregnancy and infant loss.”
Owen said one of the best pieces of advice they received at the time was that they were not alone.
“Nothing’s going to fix the individual pain or the loss of what could have been but there is some relief in knowing that you are not by yourself and you haven’t done something wrong.
“To honour the little baby we loved but never got to meet, the money donated to ‘Owen’s Beard Chop’ will be used in Red Nose’s brochure program,” Owen said.
“Their aim is to have information on their support readily available in all hospitals and doctors offices across Australia.
“The goal is that anybody unlucky enough to suffer through a miscarriage will be immediately provided with the details on where they can find support.”
Owen pledged that if he reached $5,000 (which he exceeded last Tuesday) he would shave his head and his beloved beard which, after five years of growth, was “wizardly”.
CSA hosted two barbecues for staff to help Owen in his fundraising efforts.
He said the barbecues not only helped with his fundraising but also gave people the opportunity to talk about the loss felt from a miscarriage.
“I’ve had lots of challenging conversations with others affected since this was announced.
“Hopefully the money can go some way to supporting people, so they feel more sure in having conversations,” Owen said.
Last week Owen had the first chop with his workmates getting to choose the hairstyle that he would keep for a week.
He got lots of interesting comments on his new hairstyle but told anyone who laughed that “they better be donating”.
Owen said he appreciated the support from CSA by hosting the barbecues and for also “tolerating the less than professional hair style for the week”.
“We are going to leave the donations open till mid month, if anyone wants to contribute further,” Owen said.
Owen said if this topic has brought up any issues for our readers, he urges them to contact Red Nose.
