Aspiring hairstylists fundraising for CancerCare Manitoba

Students in the hairstylist program at the Manitoba Institute for Trades and Technology take part in the Feel Good Inside and Out cutathon on May 18, 2023. (Submitted photo: MITT)

A Manitoba trades school is once again fundraising to help people impacted by cancer.

The hairstyling department of the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology (MITT) is holding its annual Feel Good Inside and Out. It’s a cut-a-thon fundraiser with money from all hair services Thursday and Friday being donated to CancerCare Manitoba.

The event began in 2011. For MITT hairstyling instructor Mary Elliott, the fundraiser is a personal one.

“In 2011, I had a friend whose son was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and it was cancerous,” she said. “And he was going through a really difficult time. And I was hearing stories about what was happening in the wards and the budgets that they were dealing with and what they could provide. And one of the things that she talked about was, they were trying to raise money so that they could have a cupboard, a heated cupboard to warm the blankets for the children in the cancer care ward.”

Elliott said the first cut-a-thon fundraised for a blanket-warming machine. In the years since, the event raised money for other important items or as a general fundraiser for CancerCare Manitoba.

This year, the cut-a-thon has expanded to two days, and Elliott said almost every appointment has been filled.

“Our program has expanded and we have more students, and we all want to give them equal opportunity to provide customer service,” Elliott said.

She added the event gives valuable experiences for students’ in their future careers.

“It's one of our normal client days but it's just this time, the funds are going somewhere else. They’re being allocated to CancerCare,” Elliott said. “So really, it gives them an opportunity to see what it's like for doing a fundraising event and possibly, they take that idea to their salons when they go and work in industry.”