The daughter of a pharmacist from Radlett has braved the shave in order to raise money for the NHS during the pandemic.
Safira Gilbert, 15, has seen how intense the lives of NHS workers such as her dad have become since coronavirus took the country by storm – and decided to do something drastic to help.
The Radlett teen used one of her dad’s clippers to chop off her locks on April 1 – and has subsequently raised over £700 to support NHS staff and volunteers caring for COVID-19 patients.
It was a bold move from Safira, who’s dad, Daniel, owns the Pharmacy at Battlers Green Farm and Gilbert’s Chemist in Borehamwood.
Her mum, Chantal, said: “We didn’t believe her when she said she was going to do it – especially because she’s always hated getting so much as a trim in the past. She used to cry her eyes out at the hairdressers when she was younger.
“But there were no tears this time. She was absolutely adamant on doing it, because she can see how hard her dad is working at the moment and she’s been in the pharmacies several times recently doing dispensary work and helping out wherever she can.”
Safira, the eldest of four siblings, added: “I’m really proud of what I’ve done and the support I’ve had has been overwhelming – people’s kindness has been unreal.”
Safira said a lot of her friends didn’t believe she’d shaved her head, especially because she did it on April Fool’s Day – but once they saw it they loved the look.
Chantal – who’s aptly nicknamed her daughter Sinéad (O’Connor), added: “We’re obviously so proud of the amount of money she’s managed to raise. We weren’t sure what to aim for and were initially reluctant to ask for donations at all, because so many people’s jobs are currently up in the air and we didn’t want to burden anyone.
“But the response has been fantastic; we set a goal of £200 initially, so to exceed that this much is fantastic.”
To donate to Safira’s page, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/Safira-Gilbert2
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