Parkland Mall was a sea of hair this past weekend as people couldn’t wait to shave it all off.

Red Deer’s first Annual Shave for the Brave was held at the Parkland Mall this past weekend to help raise money for Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC).

Many Red Deerians came out to take the stage and shave their head for the event to raise money to send cancer survivors on a retreat to help them adjust to life after cancer.

YACC aims to help young adults with cancer and help them get through treatments.

“This event gets the word out there and it is amazing to show support for this organization. A lot of people don’t know about it yet,” said Jamie Creswell, an organizer of the event.

This year was YACC’s sixth year with the Shave for the Brave fundraiser. It helps survivors between the ages of 15-39.

The event is their biggest fundraiser of the year along with the Rumble in Red Deer on May 14 at the Capri Centre, which also supports the YACC.

The money raised from these two events goes towards programs and resources to help these young adults dealing with this disease.

“The retreat is a once in a lifetime experience and for people to be raising the money for us is absolutely amazing,” said Carswell.

“A lot of people don’t have the money and they’re out of work and need support so for other people to raise this money is amazing.”

The $2,000 raised will send two people to the retreat, which helps cancer survivors adjust to life and gives them a chance to share their stories.

“The retreat changed my life, it gave me a chance and a lot of people understood what I was going through,” said Tanya Michel, another organizer.

“It was such a great turnout this year and we are stoked and pumped for our next fundraiser.”

For more information on the Shave for the Brave visit www.shaveforthebrave.ca.

tsigurdson@reddeerexpress.com