It may have been delayed due to COVID-19, but the team at Rosanna's Street Food have taken new hair styles on board to honour the memory of a much beloved family member and friend.
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Four members of staff, including owner Rosanna Eliades, her sister-in-law Alessandra Eliades, Amy Squires and Neville Mendoza, turned out at Uppercut & Co Barbers on Sunday to fulfil a promise made to Rosanna's late son, Andrew: to help fund research to lessen the impact of blood cancer on people and their families.
Andrew Eliades lost his two-and-a-half year battle with leukaemia on July 1, 2019, and Ms Eliades said the decision to bring it forward ended up being apt to reflect on her son's legacy.
"I think Andrew would be very proud of us, and we're thinking about making this a yearly event to help others affected by this terrible illness," she said.
"Red was Andrew's favourite colour, which is why we we've settled on that for our hair, and some of us have tried out blue as well."
Rosanna's set a fundraising goal of $3000 for the World's Greatest Shave in March, which they successfully achieved through donations and a popular cake and slice drive.
"The funds will go straight to the Leukaemia Foundation, and we'll be writing a letter stating what we've done," Ms Eliades said.
Alessandra Eliades, Andrew's aunt, said she got involved not only for Andrew, but to ensure future children do not have to face the same burden.
"Andrew sadly never got his wish, but it's not to late for all the little children who are still fighting," Ms Eliades said.
Uppercut & Co Barbers co-owner Tina Ayoub said Rosanna's fundraising initiative is an inspirational example of how to cope with tragedy and grief.
"I have children of a similar age to Rosanna's, so I can empathise with her drive to honour Andrew's legacy," Ms Ayoub said.
"It also stresses the importance of small businesses working together to help foster a supportive community environment."
According to the World's Greatest Shave website, more than 110,000 Australians are living with blood cancer or related disorders.
The Leukaemia Foundation has made it their main mission to reduce the number of blood cancer deaths to zero by 2035.
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
