Brayden Ottenbreit’s Close Cuts for Cancer has been going for 18 years now, and in that time has expanded into something much bigger than just a head shaving event. While the event itself raised $30,450 for cancer research this year, the impact of Close Cuts now goes beyond that, raising money for local initiatives and programs as well.
Greg Ottenrbeit says that seeing the event grow in the community has been bittersweet, because cancer is still something that affects people’s lives, and there are always more families who are affected by cancer and want to get involved. He says that it speaks to the quality of people in the community that an event like Close Cuts can get people’s support and continue to do new things, and that as a result while it’s officially in memory of Brayden, it’s also in memory of everyone in the community who has been affected by cancer.
“It just reminds me how great a community we have in Yorkton, and in the whole province really... It’s something that started out for us to support and remember our son that has grown into something that raises money for local initiatives and cancer research, but also supports people going through cancer, raises awareness, and has grown into something that has grown much bigger than we would have ever anticipated.”
All money raised through Close Cuts is targeted towards research Ottenbreit emphasizes.
The local initiatives fund has been a more recent part of the Close Cuts programming, using funds raised from events such as barbecues and taco in a bag sales to put towards things which benefit cancer patients on a local level. This year, one of the big projects that money will go to is two dedicated palliative care rooms at the Yorkton and District Nursing Home. The goal is to have a comfortable, home-like but medically supervised environment for people in their final stages of life.
