Margaret Briggs lost her sister to blood cancer. In 1996, she turned that grief into a powerful call to action. Little did she know her bold act of courage, love, and determination didn’t just raise money – it laid the foundation for what would become one of Australia’s most iconic fundraising events.
In 1996, at the age of 42, Margaret Briggs wasn’t trying to make history – she was trying to make a difference. And what she did would go on to inspire a movement.
After traveling around Australia for 8 years with her husband and two young children, Margaret and her family settled on the Gold Coast in 1992.
She opened a clothing stall at the local Carrara Markets, and it felt like a new beginning, until she saw an advertisement in the local paper from the Leukaemia Foundation looking for volunteers to help raise money to fight blood cancer.
Six years prior, Margaret lost her sister Dianne to leukaemia. It left a void that could never be filled. “She was 31 at the time,” says Margaret. “She had two young children – a one-year-old and a two-year-old – when she passed.” After undergoing a stem cell transplant, Dianne briefly entered remission before relapsing in 1990. This time however, her cancer was much more aggressive, and Dianne passed away later that year.
Dianne with her husband, Mick.
But before she passed, Dianne wrote Margaret a letter. A letter that would change everything.
At the time, Dianne was in Adelaide receiving treatment and had lost her hair. “She wrote me a letter, a letter that I’ll never forget. She said that she looked like Sinéad O'Connor [with her bald head]. And now every time I hear ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, I always stop and listen because I feel my sister Dianne is saying ‘hello’ to me.”
During her 8-year trip around Australia, Margaret had never heard of the Leukaemia Foundation. It wasn’t until she settled in Queensland and saw an advertisement in her local paper looking for volunteers that she first heard of the organisation. Margaret wasted no time in making contact, and a representative visited Margaret in her home the following week.
The State Coordinator explained everything about the Leukaemia Foundation, the work they do, and their dream to take the Leukaemia Foundation national.
“I thought it was a wonderful dream. So it then also became my dream to help get the Leukaemia Foundation national, and for everyone around Australia to receive the great support the Foundation was offering Queenslanders.”
Margaret used this photo with her Mum to promote her shave event, which showcases her luscious brown locks.
Fifteen minutes after the Leukaemia Foundation representative left Margaret’s home, she turned on the radio. The song that was playing? None other than ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by Sinéad O'Connor.
In what was a special moment she’ll never forget, Margaret sat down and said ‘hello’ to Dianne – feeling reassured Dianne was happy with her decision to help the Leukaemia Foundation. It was then that Dianne gave Margaret her lightbulb moment.
“I’ll never forget what happened next,” Margaret recalls. “She said to me, ‘If you shave your head, you’ll raise a lot of money.” Those words echoed in Margaret’s mind, and she decided right at that moment that she was going to shave her head. Margaret immediately rang the Leukaemia Foundation representative to let her know she had decided to shave her head as her first fundraiser. She told her the story about the song and the message of encouragement she received from Dianne and that she would raise a lot of money.
Margaret got straight to work. With no internet or social media to help her, Margaret had to get creative with her fundraising.
“Every morning, I went to the gym. But instead of working out, I stood outside and raised money. I wrote to politicians, rallied local businesses, took out ads in the local paper to get sponsors, sent out letters, and asked to hold my shave event at the Carrara markets.”
“I went to the manager of the market and explained to him what I was going to do. I then asked him, ‘If I hold my event here and get a crowd with full media coverage, will you match what I raise?’ And he said yes.”
For the next eight weeks, Margaret slowly but surely built momentum.
‘Will you please help me?’: Margaret circulated this flyer around her community to spread the word about her fundraiser.
Before she knew it, her big day had arrived, and it was time to make history.
“The day was so much fun. I had the Harley Owners Group come out on the day with bikes offering rides around the park for a $5 donation. I had a big stage set up, and my family and friends were roaming the markets raising money.”
“My father had only passed away in September that year, so seeing my mother fly up from Adelaide to be with me was very emotional and special.”
Margaret shaved her head early in the morning before proudly parading her new look around the market while still fundraising.
“Everyone was there early, and we fundraised until the end of the day. I walked around the markets with a sign saying that I just shaved my head to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation, knowing that the owner was going to match everything I raised dollar for dollar. I asked for donations from anybody and everybody that day.”
Margaret sharing a special moment with her mum after her shave.
The result? An incredible $12,600 raised (the equivalent of about $26,000 today) – showing just how powerful the act of shaving your head can be. And Margaret’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
The Leukaemia Foundation were so impressed, that they offered her a full-time position as the Gold Coast Quest Coordinator, a role that she started on the 30th of October 1997.
In 1999, a year after the first ‘Shave for a Cure’ fundraising event, it was renamed the ‘World’s Greatest Shave’. The rest, as they say, is history.
Margaret often reflects on what she helped make possible all those years ago, fuelled by her unwavering commitment to her sister’s wish to shave her head.
“I’m just so grateful for where it went and what it has done for the Leukaemia Foundation, but most importantly, to the people that it has helped – which is amazing,” Margaret says.
“I loved the work that I did. I loved seeing the difference in the money raised going into research, and how it helped the people in the community with support and accommodation. But sadly, you also meet many special people who didn't survive, but this pushes you to keep going. To raise more money and awareness for the great work of the Leukaemia Foundation.”
One of the fundraisers Margaret ran was ’Ride for Life’, an annual motorbike riding event that took place for 10 years between 1996 to 2006.
Margaret relocated to the Sunshine Coast where she now lives with her family, and proudly cheers from the sidelines for the thousands of Australians who follow in her footsteps by shaving, cutting or colouring their hair each year.
To the people who are considering taking part in the World’s Greatest Shave, she has some simple yet powerful words of encouragement.
“Please do it and help make a difference! Your hair will grow back. When I first told people back in 1996 that I was shaving my head, they said to me, ‘You’re going to go bald?’. I said, ‘Yes, it's only hair, and it’ll grow back’. But sadly, some people with blood cancer lose their hair, and lose their battle with this debilitating disease.”
To this day, at the age of 70, Margaret continues to bring people together and advocate for good causes.
“It touches my heart to see how big it has grown, and how many people participate from all walks of life, all ages, children, schools, and local businesses. It's such a huge event now, which is wonderful to see, not only for the money raised but just as importantly the awareness it brings.”
“Now I know what my sister Dianne was trying to tell me that day in 1996, ‘Shave your head and you will make a lot of money’. While $12,600 was a lot of money, I didn't see the big picture until the World's Greatest Shave.”
“Dianne told me it would raise a lot of money, but never in my wildest dreams did I think she meant it would raise millions.”
”I look forward to seeing this event continue to raise millions of dollars every year, and one day we can proudly say that due to everyone’s efforts around the country, ‘We have found a cure’.
