Exeter student's close shave for children’s charity

A kind-hearted student from the University of Exeter is putting her best foot forward, to help raise funds for an essential children’s charity.

Allie Short, 21, is making her final preparations before competing in the gruelling Virgin Money London Marathon, later this month.

The final-year BA Geography student is running the 26-mile course to raise money for Round Table Children’s Wish, a charity which grants wishes to children suffering life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

In order to boost her donations Allie is hosting a special, pre-marathon raffle for family, friends and well-wishers. Prizes on offer include a family pass for a luxury cruise, tickets to rugby matches, a tobogganing session and various vouchers and gifts, all of which have been donated free of charge.

Allie has also vowed to completely shave her head at the event in order to raise more funds. Her locks will then also be donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity providing wigs and hairpieces for children who suffer hair loss due to cancer treatment.

Allie said: “The event and shaving my hair are a great way to raise money for a charity that’s really close to my heart, and I can donate the hair itself to a fantastic cause too. Weirdly, I’m actually quite excited. It may sound odd but I’ve always wanted to shave my head and see what I would look like bald.

“Everyone thinks I’m bonkers seeing as I’m not going to have any hair for graduation, but I don’t really care about that – it’s just hair!  I’m much more nervous about running the marathon. I think I’ve completely underestimated how long a full marathon actually is.”

Samantha Read, a Fundraising Officer for the charity said: “We are so pleased to have Allie in our London Marathon team. Allie has shown real passion for our charity by deciding to do something so brave as to have all her hair shaved off in order to raise viral funds for the work we do. We wish Allie all the very best of luck for the London Marathon and we really appreciate her support.

“The London Marathon is our biggest fundraiser of the year and enables us to grant a large number of wishes. Some of the wishes we have coming up include a young boy aged 5 who asked to go to London Zoo and a young lady aged 15 who has asked to meet Niall Horan, previously of One Direction. It is with the help of supporters such as Allie, that we are able to make these wishes a reality.”

Allie is hosting the private fundraising party on Friday 14 April at a cocktail bar in her hometown of Shrewsbury where she expects over 120 guests to attend.

She hopes her fundraising will raise £1,800 but she is already well on the way to smashing this target.

To donate, visit Allie’s online fundraising page.