Starting The Year On A Good Note

It’s the new year, and I want to start it off on a good note.

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I have always recognised that bloggers have a lot of potential to do good for charity. In my capacity, I’m always happy to lend publicity to several charitable causes on my blog, so long as they are legitimate and transparent.

But late last year, I was approached by folks from the Sarawak Children Cancer Society.

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The society related strongly to me for two reasons.

One, I know they have been very active in providing support and care for childhood cancer sufferers, and cancer support is one of those things I keep very close to my heart.

Having gone through the pain of losing my father to kidney cancer,  I know what a dreadful experience it is, and I would never ever wish that upon even the worst of my enemies.

 

Secondly, the society is based in Sarawak.

It is a fact that Sarawak-based charities don’t receive as much attention as their Peninsular-based counterparts. Personally, I find that very unfortunate considering Sarawak has a very large rural population, many of whom still live in poverty. They are the ones who needed help the most, and yet there aren’t enough of us who reach out to them.

Due to lack of medical facilities in the rural areas, many parents of childhood cancer sufferers frequently travel long-distances, hours at a time, just bring their sick children to Kuching to seek treatment.

As a voluntary organisation, Sarawak Children Cancer Society has always provided care and support for the poor and needy in the State.

One of the best things they come up with among many fantastic ones, is the Children Cancer Centre located minutes away from the Sarawak General Hospital. Families of outstation patients are offered to temporarily stay in the Centre while their children undergo treatment at the hospital.

Food, amenities, counselling, and sometimes financial support are all provided by volunteers and their three full-time social workers. And this is just one of the many things the SCCS do to help lighten the emotional and financial burden faced by these families.

Childhood cancer is in fact a very curable form of cancer. Unfortunately, many sufferers in Sarawak needlessly die every year either due to lack of funds or access to hospital.

That is why I am very happy to give my support to the SCCS.

Of course, the running of the Children Cancer Centre is not free. Worse still, with the increasing number of outstation patients utilising the facility, their resources have been stretched thinner a plate of roti tisu.

Someone has to pay the bills. Most of the time, this is done through public donation and the many fund-raising activities that they organise.

However, when I met with the SCCS a few weeks ago, the support they asked from me for this time round goes beyond just monetary donation and publicity on kennysia.com

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They want me to shave my head bald for charity.

“What! Wait, wait, wait. I cannot confirm yet. Do I really have to do this?” I groaned.

“Well, it’s to create the awareness,” said Rodney Wong, the SCCS publicity chief when he pitched the idea to me. “We can raise funds doing food fairs and stuff but few people would pay attention. Once you say ‘Kenny Sia is willing to shave his head bald for charity’, immediately everyone takes notice.”

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I say it’s a bald bold move.

I never like saying no to people. In this case, I find it very difficult to give up my hair eventhough it is for a good cause. Everybody is vain to different extent, including me. I go through great lengths to preserve my hair. I’m already not very good-looking, but if I go bald I’d become uglier.

I certainly don’t want nother adjective people can use insult me!

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“Rodney, I spent RM150 a month on Propecia just to keep my hair from dropping. And now you want me to lose all my hair?”

“You can think about it,” replied Rodney. “Our target is to raise RM200K in total. But if you’re in, I think you can raise RM50,000 no problem.”

RM50,000 to give the hope of survival to children suffering from cancer, in return for all of my hair.

Suddenly this does not seem like such a difficult decision to make anymore.

“Alright Rodney. Let’s see how generous kennysia.com readers are then,” I said with a painful smile. “If I can raise RM50,000 by 12th February, I will shave my head bald.”

“Let’s do it!”

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And so the race is on.

The deadline is Thursay,12th February. The target is RM50,000. Everyone from all parts of the world can donate, and all major forms of payment are accepted.

Once we hit the target, I guess I’ll be sporting a new hair cut (or lack there of) just in time for Valentine’s Day. Guess I will be date-less for the next 12 months, at least.

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It’s too late for me to back out now. I’ve already made my promise to the SCCS.

Now it is all up to you, readers of kennysia.com to decide whether I can keep my hair.

KS (102)

 

Or not.

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To pledge your donation, CLICK HERE. 🙂

*sigh* I damn sure I hope I don’t regret doing this.

139 Replies to “Starting The Year On A Good Note”

  1. WAY TO GO! I am going to write a blog post [b]THIS VERY MINUTE[/b] and help spread the word, and post in other forums so that you get donations in USD!

  2. Wow! Such a humble move! Kudos to Mr Kenny! You remind me of one the articles on Sunday Star Mag, where a young girl goes against her parents and shave her head to make a fellow friend who has luekimia to not feel awkward.
    Again! Good Luck!

  3. can i know what’s the bsb number of the bank? I’m doing online transfer. Just the bank account is insufficient it seems.

  4. kenny, you touched my heart once when you wrote abt World Vision Malaysia. Now, you touched my heart again. I really sokong what you’re doing. God will bless you!
    “rambut boleh tumbuh, nyawa x boleh tumbuh lagi kalau hilang …”

  5. it is really tough decision. but i really salute you for doing it for a good cause! don’t worry, you’ll look fine. you may lose your hair but your heart has grown a thousand times larger ! (BIG HEART) 😀

  6. Kenny , i will post it =).
    By the way , i do really hope to see that you are BOTAK ! wahahah
    i will help =) , if the money is over RM50,000 , i shave botak together with you , ON BO ?
    XD

  7. beb,i was thinking of donating my nuffnang money to cervix cancer plus whatever money someone pledged for the date u owe me (that i will auction off.)
    since i havent done that, might as well give to the kids lar.
    got rm360+ i think.
    will email the nuffnang ppl laters then 😀
    good luck!!

  8. Cool! Ppl who volunteer or sacrifice esp with reasons down close to their hearts are those who have the will and determination to succeed in watever they do.. my late mum died of cancer so i share the same tune as the patients’ families and yeah men, u have done it, great =)

  9. botak pun botak la abang kenny ^^
    it will grow back 😉
    by then, u can style your NEW hair lo. NEW YEAR ma (*as in 2009*) :p

  10. Hair can be regrown.
    Your character is not determined by how much or how thick your hair is. A magnanimous heart does it.

  11. Kenny,
    I am glad that you have a big heart on giving back to charity. By you taking the first step-paying forward to the community, i am sure lots of bloggers will follow your footsteps…
    Looking forward to see you bald 🙂

  12. If you can raise 50k, why they don’t ask XX to do the same thing and I’m sure they can come out double that amount easily, since SG are usually kiasu people xD
    This is certainly a noble cause and all the best to you and the kids =)

  13. Maybe you will have Propecia sponsor soon after you get bold as u r promoting for them~
    Good luck on the RM 50,000!
    Kinky Blue Fairy also did a good raise for getting botak head ar ;p

  14. Hey Kenny, I’m sure that your Dad will be very proud of you!
    You’ve done him proud even if this idea just happened to cross your mind. As for the baldness thingy, to me it doesn’t matter that much anymore.
    But tell you what, being bald actually suits you. Not so bad-looking…

  15. honestly kenny? its not so bad. u look just fine, so dun worry so much about going bald =)
    good luck with ur fundraising!
    i’ll put ur banner up in my blog =D

  16. This is excellent Kenny. Thanks so much.
    For those who don’t know me, I’m the dude sitting next to Kenny in the press con picture. The organising chairman of this project.
    Let me assure you that 100% of the proceeds (as in all that u donate) will be going straight to the Sarawak Children Cancer Society. And it will all be used for great deeds.
    For those who are gonna be in Kuching on the 15th Feb, join me and my buddies in going bald too yayayayayyahhhhh ….

  17. Hello Silas!
    Just a quick update on the proceeds received thus far. Since I published this entry, 19 people have donated a total of RM3,727.
    Not a bad start, but plenty of improvement needs to be made ‘cos that’s only 8% of the target!
    I’m in the midst of programming a ‘scoreboard’ to put up on my blog.

  18. hey kenny, if u shave bald for charity, u can just screw all the other people by saying “Eh, i shave my head bald for charity and raised RM50’000, can you” its a great thing what ur doing, wish u all the best of luck… ^^V

  19. Will try to donate some later…good move man…they are right, rambut hilang can grow, hati hilang cannot grow anymore…everyone should try to help…webcam the cutting process and post it in youtube, then we can see the process of you getting bold…:P…good luck man!!!

  20. hey dude… Really glad to see you willing to give up your hair to help those children…
    I will donate and help you spread around… 🙂

  21. The online fund transfer of Maybank2u.com requires a Recipient ID (IC, Business Registration). I called the Society and one kind lady provided the Registration of Society No. 1485

  22. Yo! Kenny!! I’m going bald with yea!! Too bad, I’m not raising any donations, just going to shave off my head to gain awareness. Shave off your head even if you dun reach la~ save the shampoo dude!

  23. I thought about shaving my head for charity also back in 05/06.
    Then i was advised against it because of the pageant activities lined up.
    Maybe it’s time to revisit this option!

  24. Awwww, that’s a nice deed you’re doing. Well, I don’t have the money to donate since I’m still a student but I guess people, if you’re working, why not chip in a little. Helping them once in a while doesn’t hurt, does it? I was thinking of shaving my head bald to create awareness in my school but I’d be expelled cause they do not allow bald headed students. Sigh.. What a school..

  25. Shaving will probably cure dropping hair. When all else failed I shaved mine and it’s been good since.
    After it grows back refrain from using anything except shampoo weekly. Natural oils your body produce is better than anything you can buy.
    Surprisingly many women can’t resist caressing your bald noggin.
    More details on How-to contribute will definitely help.
    Nice-One boss.

  26. ahhh my cousin raised AUD$2K when she did this 3 years ago for the cancer society..it’s really not that bad!!! i thot she looked trendier 🙂

  27. I just wanted to applaud Kenny for his courage in doing this. In fact, I have been in contact with him on this for about 3 months and its was touch and go before he finally consented. So it’s not an easy decision.
    You got balls, dude!

  28. haha… im gonna shave as well!!! aussie has this event as well… btw… IM A FEMALE!!!! im gonna shave!!! excited weH!!!!

  29. OMG
    Salute, u already hav my respect even b4 this post… Hmm, i’m thinking if u go bald, should i dare myself to go bald? Lol

  30. Ask Mr. Silas Martin to shave his head first hahaha…. oi Silas what r u doing there?? now doin charity meh? why, local gigs not so ‘laku ‘ nowadays meh??

  31. This is an awesome project …. the cause is so worth being a part of …. well, in about 12 hours time we’ll be visiting our VVIP and hopefully we will get more botak commitments yeyeyeyyee ….

  32. Anything for the charity is good, especially when you know where the money would be channel to! Congrats for the courage and I’m sure you earn priceless pride for it. 🙂

  33. At least you can save on shampoo, just use soap on your head. I don’t think you look good bald, but that makes your effort even more admirable

  34. Ermmm let’s say donations managed to reach RM25,000. Does this mean that you’ll shave 1/2 bald ??
    Also, the International Childhood Cancer Day is on Feb15th. Why did you set an earlier date ?? 3 days is a lot okay !!
    It feels like you’re trying to lessen the probability of shedding any of your precious hair !!
    If you’re willing to part with your beloved hair, I’m sure a lot more people would donate. Think of the kids, Kenny !! T.T

  35. Your hair will grow back to normal within 4-8 weeks. It’s never been an issue being bald. Lots of celebrities are/were bald. Even some of the female ones.
    I’m not gonna use Britney as an example. I’ll use Natalie Portman instead. Why are you (a male) a bit reluctant to shave your head? It’s no big deal really.

  36. Eh… If you can reach more than RM50,000, will you consider the eyebrows, facial hair, and arm hair and leg hair too? 😀
    I’m going to pledge!

  37. i think can hit 100k easily..
    but make him shave all his available hair if reached 200k lar. including eyebrows LULZZZZZ

  38. HI everyone…
    I believe that no matter how much money he raise… He will shave it in front of everyone no matter the amount will be, right? Don’t care whether it’s RM500, RM5,000 or RM50,000 raised … it is still money right? It will still be donated to them right? I believe Kenny will keep to his promise and shave his head no matter how much he raise … hehehe… ;P
    Also I spotten an error. You updated the wrong amount of money raised… You changed the target instead of the money raised …
    —-> Target: RM 13,446
    Siao.. I thought you gave up raising the original target… haha

  39. Hope you’ll reach the targeted RM50 000 or higher.
    I’m happy that you’re willing to go bald for the kids. I’m sure that doing this will give you long-term satisfaction and even more funky things to talk about with people.
    I personally think bald is a pretty good hairstyle. Think Halle Berry .
    Oops. Should’ve gotten a guy example. Aiyah. The pic in your post also not bad.

  40. you are so much useless.
    if you have the heart to make an effort for charity, that is nothing to say IF only certain target is reached.
    imagine changing lives with your hair is so much doubtful to you.
    brother kenny, shame on you. millions of people will never hesitate.
    think more!

  41. I have been an avid reader of kennysia.com for a few years and this is my first time posting a comment.
    I am a student and can only afford AUD1.00 to give you, but when converted it is ~RM2.50, enough to buy a bowl of kolo mee in Kuching. As the saying goes, “Little little become mountain”. Every dollar, ringgit and cents make a difference!!!!!
    GO KENNY GO!!! HIDUP SARAWAK!!!

  42. I’ve just heard that Kenny set an earlier date because he’s traveling after Feb12th….
    BUT I DUN CARE NO MATTER WHAT U BETTER SHAVE SOME OF THAT HAIR !! T^T
    No need all bald also can……
    You can cut short short “kiwi” hairstyle what… nice to rub also, definitely popular with girls.
    Then there’s also the “Friar Tuck” hairstyle.. just bald the middle of the head, no one can even tell you’re part bald !! 😀

  43. hey , i got swimming competition on the 15th . and i aint sure if i cn go o nt yet . is it possible to go shave on the 12th ?????

  44. Hi Kenny, I think publicizing this on your blog is a very good idea. I have a genuine question though,
    will the donors be given a report as to how the 50k is spent? I’m wary of charitable organizations, but I’m very willing to help if there is transparency especially with regards to the funds. thanks 🙂

  45. Hi, i have hairloss too and can you tell me whether propecia has helped u on preventing any further loss? thx

  46. hello kenny,
    why dun you add more cimbclicks and maybank2u donate way?
    a student like me dun have credit card nor live in kuching. how do i donate then?

  47. you make super impose on that bald pic.. it’s look almost real but u wrong bout perspective of your bald head.

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