Kindhearted teacher braves the shave to raise funds for eight-year-old pupil's new wheelchair

A Castleford teacher has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help one of her pupils...
Sherrillee Duggan (left), a teacher at Castleford Park Junior Academy, will be shaving her head later today with the hope of raising money for pupil Alex Craven (right)Sherrillee Duggan (left), a teacher at Castleford Park Junior Academy, will be shaving her head later today with the hope of raising money for pupil Alex Craven (right)
Sherrillee Duggan (left), a teacher at Castleford Park Junior Academy, will be shaving her head later today with the hope of raising money for pupil Alex Craven (right)

Sherrillee Duggan, a teacher at Castleford Park Junior Academy, will be shaving her head later today with the hope of raising £3,000 for pupil Alex Craven, who has cerebral palsy.

The money raised will go towards Alex’s new wheelchair after outgrowing some of his specialist equipment at school.

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The new wheelchair will allow Alex to go outdoors and participate in PE lessons.

Alex with mum SarahAlex with mum Sarah
Alex with mum Sarah

Sherrillee said: “Alex and his family fundraise every year to fund his physiotherapy and equipment, by putting on fairs and events.

“However this year they have not been able to do that due to the coronavirus pandemic and going into lockdown.

“As we broke up, we noticed Alex had been outgrowing his specialist equipment, but the NHS can only provide him with a stander and an indoor wheelchair.”

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In September last year, Sherrillee was diagnosed with a brain avium and was expecting to have brain surgery.

Alex with his twin siblingsAlex with his twin siblings
Alex with his twin siblings

Sherrillee said: “Me and the teaching assistant put our heads together to think about what we could do to help Alex and his family.

“I already had the idea in my head that I was going to have to be shaved for medical reasons, but in the end I had radiation treatment so I only lost a tiny patch of hair, so I thought I might as well go all the way and shave my hair off to fund Alex’s wheelchair.”

On Saturday night, Sherrillee set up a JustGiving page in which people could donate and in just less than a week, she has raised over £2,500.

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“It will be great once we get Alex his chair, but for Alex’s parents the fundraising never stops as it’s an ongoing part of their lives.

On Saturday night, Sherrillee set up a JustGiving page in which people could donate and in just less than a week, she has raised over 2,500 for AlexOn Saturday night, Sherrillee set up a JustGiving page in which people could donate and in just less than a week, she has raised over 2,500 for Alex
On Saturday night, Sherrillee set up a JustGiving page in which people could donate and in just less than a week, she has raised over 2,500 for Alex

“I know his mum has hands full at the moment and I wanted to help take pressure off - Alex is the sweetest kid and you never see him without a smile on his face.

“Over the last week I have just been blown away by the whole thing and how generous people have been.”

The shave will take place today (Friday) in the school playground, where Alex and his mum, Sarah, will be watching from a distance.

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Sarah said: “I received a message from Sherrillee just last week saying that she wanted to help fundraise for Alex’s chair, because we haven’t been able to do much during the pandemic.

“Alex loves school and he’s really been missing it, we had to take him out of school a couple of weeks before lockdown as I have two twins at home with health conditions.

“We’re looking forward to going down to the playground to show our support, what Sherrillee’s doing is amazing.

To donate towards Alex's new wheelchair and support Sherrillee's shave click here

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