Stephan’s cutting his hair in memory of his dad

Stephan Banfield-Sturgess from Wembley has been growing his hair for nearly 10 years.

He has talked about cutting it for a long time, but always found a reason to wait. Now he has found the right reason.

Stephan is cutting his hair to raise money for St Luke’s Hospice and to give something back.

About 10 years ago, Stephan’s dad, Paul, was cared for at St Luke’s when he was dying of cancer. He spent a month in the hospice, and the care meant a lot to the whole family.

Stephan says: “Everything here was amazing. We could spend time with him, and I stayed over a couple of nights, my siblings as well. They really looked after my dad right up to when he passed.”

He noticed a change in his dad as soon as he arrived. “When he came here, his whole demeanour changed naturally. He felt at home, he was comfortable, and he was more open to people coming to see him.”

It was the simple things that mattered most. “He had his own room, he could get outside, everyone was really nice,” Stephan says. “They were very supportive of us coming to stay. They would set us up a bed if we wanted to stay, and things like that just made the whole experience.”

Stephan has wanted to support St Luke’s for years. In 2022, he planned to do a skydive, but the plan never happened. Now he is starting with the haircut, with the skydive still on his list for later.

“I didn’t want to cut my hair for no purpose,” he says. “Doing it for St Luke’s means there’s a whole story around it. It feels like I’m giving back.”

Stephan has lined up a well-known Hackney barber, Mark from Slider Cuts, who works with a number of celebrities, to do the cut. He will share the moment on social media to help raise funds and spread the word. The haircut is planned for mid-February.

We’ll share updates as Stephan’s plans come together.

If you’d like to do your own fundraiser for St Luke’s Hospice, whether big or small, our fundraising team would love to help you get started.

You can support Stephan’s fundraiser at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/paul-sturgess