Lee Loses the Beard

There’s a strong chance you think the time is nigh for me to ditch the beard. There’s a strong chance you are also big advocates of the work Starship Foundation does treating thousands of sick New Zealand children every year.

If this sounds like you, I’ll make you a deal.

I’ll shave this wild mane of mine if you kindly dip into your wallet and donate to Starship Foundation via this Givealittle page.

It’s a legit deal. You get to do a good deed and in exchange Lee (that's me) finally loses that awful beard. Win-win. What’s not to like?

Seeing as I started growing this mighty thatch as part of my Auckland half marathon fundraising endeavours for Starship Foundation last year, it is only appropriate that the proceeds raised from this exercise go to them.

July 16 is D-Day. That, I think, marks the one-year anniversary of when my whiskers and I started ‘going steady’, so it's appropriate that I shave them off then.

Now I’m not going to lie to you: It is with a heavy heart that my beard and I will be parting ways (think the ending of Terminator 2: Judgement Day when John Connor pleads with the T-800 to stay). In fact, there’s a strong chance James Blunt’s Goodbye My Lover will be playing on repeat during what is sure to be an emotional experience that will hit hard right in them feels.

But hey, it’s for a good cause – and you cannot beat that. Remember, Starship Foundation raises funds to provide world-class, life-saving care for the 120,000 young patients that visit Starship Hospital every year.

Here are some of the children you are helping me help: https://www.starship.org.nz/foundation/starship-stories/meet-starships-young-patients/.

Anyway, any donations – big, small, long, tall – would be greatly appreciated.

It’s a decent target to chase down, but with your kind generosity I know we can smash it down the ground for six.