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Than and now… Gary O’Dowd after ten months of beard growth. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
AFTER losing his father, Maurice, to suicide last year, Gary O’Dowd wanted to try to use his grief for good.
To raise funds for suicide prevention charities and to honour his father, the Castlemaine man now looks like he been following in the footsteps of the town’s most favourite son, ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’ – who is often depicted with a long beard.
Gary has been growing his beard for almost a year now and will be asking the public if he should ‘Shave or Grow’ his impressive brush at a charity fundraiser event which will take place in Jack Duggan’s Bar, Castlemaine on July 16 at 8pm.
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It’s just one of a number of initiatives Gary has lined up as part of ‘The Bearded Man’s Battle for Suicide Prevention’ campaign.
The campaign has almost met its target of €700, but one suspects Gary will be hoping to go a lot further than that.
The public will decide whether Gary should shave his beard off, or keep it for another year. Should they vote to keep the beard, Gary will shave the hair off his head. You can’t get any fairer than that.
The night will include music, DJ, spot prizes and the chance for you to nominate your friends to get waxed, it’s sure to be a good one.
If you can’t be there on the night you can help out lighting a candle and texting SWCC to 50300 to donate €4. Text costs €4.
SouthWest Counselling Centre will receive a minimum of €3.25. Service Provider: LIKECHARITY. Helpline: 076 6805278. All money donated will be divided between both charities; Console and Southwest/Kerry LifeLine.
Gary wants you to make a short video of you lighting a candle to shine a light on suicide prevention and use the hashtags…
#LetsShineTheLightBrightOnSuicidePrevention or #ShineTheLight
Nominate three or more of your friends and post a screenshot of your donation in the comments on Facebook.
Donate HERE
And check out The Bearded Man’s Battle for Suicide Prevention Facebook page HERE
