Ready ... Set ... Gone!

CROTHERSVILLE - In future fundraising endeavors for the Crothersville Senior Citizen Center, Sue Walther may use a bit more caution.

Otherwise, she may have her head shaved again.

Six months ago, Walther challenged the senior citizens to raise $5,000, with half going toward gas to keep the center's bus on the road and half to supplement the regular programs at the center. She told members if they succeeded, she would have her head shaved.

Little did she know they would raise the money.

So, on Oct. 31, her beautician, Debbie Dorsey, arrived at the senior citizen center, armed with an electric razor, ready to buzz away all of Walther's hair. She got some help from the seniors and others present.

"Oh, oh my goodness," said Cheryl Kenyon of Aging & Community Services as she swiped the razor across Walther's head, watching the hair fall to the floor.

"Now you're starting to look like me on top," said Jim Dailey, who drives the center's bus.

"I used to give my boys haircuts like this all the time," said Doris Kovener.

"Oh, this is so fun," said Derald Whipple, with a smile.

Then, when Walther had no hair left, she took her first glance into the mirror.

"Well, that feels neat," she said. "I'm seeing parts of me I haven't seen before. I'll be rubbing my head all the time."

People were still reacting to Walther's new look after the hair was gone.

"Absolutely stunning," Kenyon said.

"Who knows? It may come back blond," said Shelia Woods, nutrition director of Aging & Community Services.

"I think she's beautiful," said Aaron Walther, Sue's son. "I think it shows what matters. I think she cares about her seniors, her community. I think it's not only a great way to raise money here but it brings attention to the senior citizen centers in the area."

Sue got the initial idea from her daughter-in-law, Sarah Walther, who took part in a fundraiser in March for St. Baldrick's Foundation in Louisville that raises money for childhood cancer research. Sarah set her goal for that at $2,000. She met her goal and raised $2,200, and as a result, had her head shaved.

"She inspired me," Sue said of Sarah. "I was telling my seniors about what Sarah did. My brain said, ‘Challenge them.' But my brain thought it was working good and it said make the number big. I figured they would run as fast as they could. Instead, they ran with it."

Joyce Harmon spearheaded the fundraiser, and her son's co-workers at Schwarz Pharma in Seymour raised some of the money. That, along with money the seniors raised, didn't quite reach the $5,000 goal, so some money was borrowed from the center's treasurer's fund. That money will come back in through an upcoming quilt raffle, bake sale and silent auction.

The day of the head-shaving, a $500 donation from Terry Goodin, superintendent of Crothersville Community Schools and District 66 state representative, also gave a boost to the fundraising efforts.

"I always kept thinking, ‘What else can we do?'" Harmon said of raising money. "I just thought everyone else would do it. Nobody else got it started, so I decided to."

But once they got closer to the goal, it all came together.

"She's the best," Harmon said of Walther. "She has such good ideas and she keeps coming up with more and more. She's exceptional with what she does."
Mary K. Rose, who took part in the fundraising and got to clip some of Walther's hair, agreed with Harmon.

"Sue is great and she's a good sport," Rose said. "She's friendly and she makes everybody feel like this is home."

Rose had a front-row seat to all the buzzing.

"I've never laughed so hard in my life," she said. "Once she put the earrings on, I just laughed some more. That takes the cake. That topped it all."

After all was said and done, Walther said, "It's made (the seniors) take ownership in the funds they can raise for the center. Leadership emerged and they really put it together."

To keep the center's bus on the road, Cerro Wire in Crothersville also gave some money, so combining that with what was raised, Walther said, "Our bus gets seven miles per gallon. It takes a whole lot of gas. This will keep us going for a long time."

The bus picks up seniors and brings them to the center, and it also takes them to places they need to go, such as the grocery store or doctor appointments. It's used for special trips, too.

Walther said the center operates on a small amount of money, and much of that is used for the center's operating costs. It receives a grant from Aging & Community Services, and it gets some money for being one of the 21 member agencies of Jackson County United Way.

"That money doesn't go real far, so we're always happy when people want to donate," Walther said.

Even though, with this fundraiser, Walther lost her hair, it was all worth it.

"It's worth a few inches of hair," she said. "I'm going to be hard-pressed to come up with something like this again. I don't know how I'm going to top it. I'm glad hair grows back."

Walther's past activities with the center are used as an example for centers in the five counties Aging & Community Services serves, Kenyon said. The head-shaving fundraiser is another example.

"We're so proud of you," Kenyon said. "Sue, you're one in a million."