If Chelsea Bess can raise $1,500, she will shave her head.
As a Ferris senior in the advertising/integrated marketing communication program and president of Ferris State AdGroup, Bess needed to come up with a fundraiser idea.
Each year, AdGroup competes in the National Student Advertising Competition, but the organization soon realized they had little funds to carry out the full advertising campaign and enter in the competition.
After deliberation, the team came to a consensus that their goal was to raise $1,500. However, not all of that money will go to AdGroup. Out of the funds raised, 30 percent will be donated to Relay For Life.
If the money is contributed and Bess shaves her head, her hair will be donated to Locks of Love. The non-profit organization provides hair pieces to children who have lost their own hair due to medical illness.
Bess admitted she is not even “freaked out” about potentially shaving her head, despite various objections and graduation only a few months away.
“I so badly want to motivate them to raise the money and to do this because it’s not just for us, it’s for everybody,” Bess explained.
So an approach was chosen and the “Bald is Beautiful Fundraiser” took off. Promotions on Facebook have gained awareness. Bess has also walked through the Business Building with an open mason jar asking for donations.
About a month in, AdGroup has raised $500, which is enough to enter the competition and book hotels for the three-day event. Funds have yet to be established to print the required 12 books and send them to Washington D.C., where their campaign will be judged.
The fundraiser will run through the middle of April. An official date has not been set.