At the moment the only thing that might cause a stranger to look twice at Tamsin Miller is her easy smile, but come April 16, she expects to be getting a lot of double takes.
Miller is one of dozens of Squamish residents participating in the annual Balding for Dollars fundraiser for the BC Children's Hospital cancer ward. And she'll also be donating her hair to Locks for Love, an organization donating hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
Cancer has touched Miller's life in numerous ways, and this has led to her passion for the charity.
"My mother died of cancer I have several friends who have had breast cancer and been through all that," said Miller. "I think that the courage with which children face the same situation - I have had occasion to be around the Children's Hospital and I am constantly astonished by the strength of purpose and the great spirit of the children who have to go through the same thing that adults find so very hard to do."
It won't be the first time Miller goes bald for the fundraiser. She shaved her head five years ago in Pemberton, so she knows what to expect.
"I really liked it. It's really comfortable, it's easy to take care of, kids love stroking your head and they think it's very cool. But what I did find very interesting about it was other people's attitudes to you. You could see the wheels turning and 'Oh my God, her hair's really, really short, she can't have cut it like that, there must be something wrong with her'.
"It was really interesting to feel people being very careful around you."
Miller said she learned a lot through the experience; it allowed her to empathize somewhat with chemotherapy patients who lose their hair, and she was surprised by the level of gratitude her supportive gesture elicited from a friend with cancer. Miller's inspiration to donate her hair for a wig came from an 11-year-old girl in Pemberton who had recently donated her 10-inch ponytail. Now Miller says she intends to continue growing and cutting her hair for the cause.
"I thought if I can grow it long enough every so many years I may as well be donating it to something. And if you can get two things out of it, raise money and get a wig, that's great."
Miller will have her head shaved along with numerous others at Valleycliffe Elementary School April 16.
