Charlotte Varcoe
THE luscious locks of two Nutrien Mount Gambier staff members will be gone this Friday with Cody Benson and Girard Williams shaving their head for the Do it for Dolly campaign.
Stock agent Mr Benson and merchandise manager Mr Williams will shave their heads this Friday to help raise funds for the campaign which focuses on mental health awareness and preventing bullying.
The Do it for Dolly campaign was started by Australian couple Kate and Tick Everett after their daughter Dolly committed suicide due to bullying and harrasment.
Now, the campaign and charity focuses on preventing other families going through the same heartbreak they did.
Mr Benson said he decided to trim the locks for the cause which he always felt was an important cause.
“It is a really important cause, as far as mental health and suicide prevention and bullying and harassment, it is something I am against andI have always supported the campaign,” Mr Benson said.
“Being in the agriculture industry we see a lot of farmers and Dolly’s family was an agricultural family and farmers are doing it tough at the moment with the highs and lows of stock prices.”
He said it was a tough season at the moment and it was evidently weighing on people’s minds.
“Some people just need that little bit of extra support to help so we thought why not cut off the locks and try and raise awareness and some funds,” Mr Benson said.
“When I was at school a friend of mine was in a similar situation and he took his own life because it got to that stage and it is something that is not on, kids should not have to deal with that.”
He said farmers in the Northern Territory or in Queensland were really tough at the moment as they continued to battle droughts as well as plummeting prices.
“Sometimes as a stock agent you feel more like a councillor because they are talking to you about everything,” Mr Benson said.
“You really need to try and bring people up a little bit and give them a bit of positivity and motivation because everything in their lives is just pulling them back down a little bit.”
He said by taking part in the fundraising event, the two staff members were also hoping to break down the barriers for men to talk things out.
“Whether that is over a coffee in the morning or a beer at night it is important,” Mr Benson said.
Mr Williams said although it was okay to have fun with mates and have a laugh, people needed to remember to remain cautious with jokes sometimes going too far.
“For Dolly she was getting harassed so badly and so many kids do which is just terrible,” Mr Williams said.
He said he had been close to other farming families who had lost loved ones to suicide and although the agricultural industry in the South East was “ticking along nicely” it was important to keep others in mind.
“We have our ups and downs but we are not at the point where we are shooting sheep like they are in Western Australia because they are just not worth anything,” Mr Williams said.
“We ride the highs and lows down here quite a lot as being as productive as the area and we bounce back but if we can help just one person decide not to do the wrong thing through this it is worth it.”
Mr Benson will be shaving his head at the Mount Gambier and Districts Saleyard on May 10 at 9.30am while Mr Williams will be shaving his head at the Nutrien Mount Gambier store at 4.30pm.
