A Physician-in-Training at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) came up with an unusual way to raise funds for the St. Maarten AIDS Foundation – by offering haircuts in return for donations. Jesse Curran from California is currently a fifth semester student at AUC. Holding a Masters Degree in Public Health, he was interested in helping out the AIDS Foundation during his stay on the island, and after volunteering at one of the HIV testing events, Mr. Curran brainstormed a way to raise money for the Foundation. He knew that his classmates needed a barber nearby school and seized on that unmet need – even though he never formally trained as a barber, he had been cutting his own hair since the age of 13 and has been offering haircuts to friends for about 10 years now.
“It seemed a match – the need for my classmates to get a haircut, and the need of the AIDS Foundation to continue to raise funds for its free HIV testing events”, said Mr. Curran, and he embarked on a one-man hair cutting venture, which he named “Haircuts for Health”. Over the past two months he was able to offer 27 haircuts and raised $500, which he then presented to the AIDS Foundation.
“It’s amazing how creative the students at AUC have been to raise funds on our behalf. We are deeply grateful to Jesse for his efforts that he was able to squeeze in between his studies and know that his civic-mindedness and generosity will serve him well in his future career. We also thank AUC and its student body for keeping HIV top of mind in their fundraising and volunteer efforts”, remarked Rae Merlet, AIDS Foundation Executive Director.