Cat skinned for Charity Lifeblood

Cambridgeshire Cats defensive back Matt Casey recently had nearly a decade’s hair growth shaved to raise funds for the charity Lifeblood. Lifeblood, registered charity 1090540 is an organisation designed to promote awareness & understanding of thrombosis, a condition that kills more than breast cancer, AIDS and traffic accidents combined. Venous Thrombosis affects 1 in 1000 people in the UK every year, with 1 in every 10 cases of Pulmonary Embolism becoming fatal. “Case” knows this having himself lost his father to “PE” 3 years ago, and it is in his memory that the fundraising took place.

The hair in all its glory!

Originally aiming to commemorate the anniversary of his father’s passing, the event was postponed in part to coincide with National Thrombosis Week, May 12-16^th. Having approved Matt’s fundraising efforts on the JustGiving website, Lifeblood Executive Officer Annya Stephens-Boal contacted Matt offering her support, which included mentioning his event in the House of Commons itself! This removed any ideas Matt may have had of pulling out of the haircutting: “I was really getting cold feet about the whole thing, and whilst I’d never have gone back on my word to those that had sponsored me, when Annya called me to say I was getting that kind of publicity it really sunk in that I was going to have to go through with it- which in a way helped as the decision was set in stone”.

Matt’s hair had long been a topic of great interest at the Cats, and braiding it into what he dubbed a “warrior-like plait” had become part of the game-day ritual that is so important to Britball players. “Many of the team had volunteered their services to cut the hair, even before I’d decided to lose it for charity. I’d often said I’d never cut it again, so the decision was a big one however when the idea of doing it for charity was put to me I couldn’t refuse. So I decided to auction off the rights to cut it- the biggest donor getting first refusal.”

The prize on offer!

The most motivated bidder was Cats teammate, centre Chris Fenton. Fenton is one of the few people ever to photograph Matt with his hair down, and was keen to do his part both in the fundraising and complete the head shaving. Having entered the team together in the 2005 season, Fenton and Case have gone through the lows and highs with the club, and asked if about it Case said “If you’d told me 3 years ago that this guy I’d barely met would shave my beloved hair I wouldn’t even have laughed. I’m out injured and when I come back it’s going to be interesting- I wonder if my helmet will still fit! Still I guess now I don’t have to worry about Troy Polamalu tackles”.

Fenton showing his barber skills in front on the “Everyone Active” Gym and Pool facility adjacent to Cats Field, proud sponsors of Chris.

The Cats are enjoying their best season in recent memory, heading the BAFL2 East after a 20-0 win over close rivals Peterborough this past weekend. The derby win gives the Cats control over the division which provided some compensation to Matt: “the Saxons had put out some good confrontational publicity to promote the game, well I’m happy to say that l was the only Cat to be skinned last week”.

Contributions from Fenton and others at recent Cats games helped Matt reach and exceed his targeted £500 for lifeblood, and donations are still accepted on the website www.justgiving.com/mattcasey.