Before (left) and after Nathaniel Martin let his daughter cut his hair Oct. 10. The amount of money he raises will determine how long he keeps his cut in November.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Nathaniel Martin
October 16, 2020 - 7:00 AM
When Kamloops resident Nathaniel Martin's daughter wanted to cut his hair, he came up with an idea to give back to the community while rocking the bad 'do.
"I was thinking to myself, there’s not enough talk going on about domestic violence and mental health," he said. "You see it in the news, but it’s not really talked about in conjunction with the pandemic."
Martin decided to launch Cutober, a campaign to raise money for mental health and domestic violence services in Kamloops.
Nathaniel Martin let his daughter cut his hair to raise awareness and funds for mental health and domestic violence services in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Nathaniel Martin
When he approached his workplace with the idea, the union and staff really got behind it, he said. Employees have the opportunity to sign up and donate a portion of their paycheque this month to the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Kamloops Sexual Assault Centre.
For the public, Martin launched a GoFundMe campaign, and all of those funds will go towards the United Way in Kamloops.
The campaign is about awareness too, Martin said, as many don't realize how difficult the pandemic lockdown was for victims of domestic violence and those struggling with mental health.
"These associations had to close down for a number of months," he said. "When they came back, they found out that things had escalated."
Martin heard firsthand from domestic assault services in Kamloops that the pandemic made it incredibly difficult for victims to get any help.
"Victims don’t go to the police in those situations," he said. "They don’t have a safe time to make that phone call or to get away to a friend’s house, because their friends are in lock-down too, and then there’s no services."
Martin explains his bad hair, which his daughter cut for him Oct. 10, has actually been a perfect way to bring up these issues.
Nathaniel Martin let his daughter cut his hair to raise awareness and funds for mental health and domestic violence services in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Nathaniel Martin
"I go through drive-thrus and I get a double-look," he said. "Then I get to tell people why I did it, so it’s an interesting way of opening up a conversation.”
Martin will be accepting donations for the rest of October, and distribute the cheques to each charity in early November.
Martin will keep his horrid haircut for all of October, then for one minute per dollar donated in November, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Canada.
Martin hopes to continue Cutober in the future, as the questionable hairstyle makes a great talking point to bring up important issues.
"We might just re-do this again next year," he said. "Maybe see if some other dads want to get their hair cut by their children."
To donate to United Way through the Cutober GoFundMe page, click here.
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