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Spafford takes it all off for a good cause

Friend Diane Langabeer holds the mirror while Kevin Spafford shaves off his two-year-old beard for a good cause.

24/7 Yardsale members Diane Langabeer and Barb Kellar had the "honour" of shaving Spafford's hairy legs.

The power of social media evolved into a bizarre spectacle in front of the Picton Library Tuesday – all for a good cause.
Members of the Facebook group 24/7 Yard Sale Prince Edward County often have a lot of fun bantering back and forth while they post items they have to sell or give away.  Their chatting turned into a fundraiser to help a local family with expenses and by Tuesday, the group made its way to downtown Picton.
“To make a long story short, conversations got flowing and we ended up having Kevin Spafford, one of our male members, dress up ‘all pretty’ and post a photo,” says 24/7 member Pam McRae. “We had such great fun, laughs and hundreds of comments, that he decided he would ‘display’ a new outfit for a total of seven days, and anyone that gets a chuckle out of his pictures was asked to donate $10 toward the Reddick Family.”
Sarah Reddick, a Grade 10 student at Prince Edward Collegiate Institute, was diagnosed with leukemia in early December and is continuing her fight by keeping her spirits up with the help of family and friends as she undergoes treatment at Kingston General Hospital.
“Meanwhile, the donations were starting to roll in on the Facebook site. We said ‘If this picture makes you smile, laugh, chuckle, spew out breakfast … remember that this is fundraiser for a great family in the community!”

Kevin Spafford poses for photographs on Main Street, next to the sign indicating the fundraiser for a local family.

The ‘costume’ portion finished Tuesday night but not before Kevin upped the ante for fundraising by offering to have his legs and beard shaved downtown Picton. When offers were made to donate to the cause if he’d allow people to pull his chest hair off with wax strips, he agreed.
“All of this began as a practical joke and one thing led to another and it’s all just fun for a good cause” laughs Spafford, standing in front of the library, newly shaved and wearing a tank top and jean skirt. “I have three small kids and I can’t imagine what it would be like to have one of them fighting leukemia. Everybody in the 24/7 community just stood behind one another and the whole thing blossomed from there. This community is so great. My wife Jaime has been really great about it too.
“Everybody’s been positive about it. I’m silly by nature so it wasn’t too far a stretch. I got some donations on my Facebook from as far away as Nebraska and Toronto.”
Fellow fundraisers and friends cheered when PEC OPP officer Dave Mowbray checked in at the site of the shaving and supposed aloud that he could arrest Spafford for “indecent exposure”, then posed for a quick photograph pretending to handcuff the culprit.
The funds have not yet been tallied but secretary Kim Hicks says they have raised at least a few hundred dollars over the past few days. Donations can still be made by calling Pam McRae at 613-471-1617. The 24/7 Reddick Fundraiser group has now moved to its own Facebook page. Join in here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/316444268401499/

And… some of the photos that started it all, “enhanced” by 24/7 friend Reggie Smith:

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  1. Kim Hicks says:

    It was so much fun. We are continuing the fundraising through February. I am available all this upcoming weekend (Thursday and Friday night, All day Saturday and Sunday afternoon) to collect further donations. Please help show support for a local family.

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