The children at Blackfriars Priory School, who were taking part in the annual Blackfriars Greatest Shave, have pledged the money to the renowned Mary Potter Foundation and means that, since 2020, the school has donated almost $55,000 to the foundation through its shave stunt plus another $30,000 via initiatives such as the Walk for Love.
The Mary Potter Foundation Executive Director Kristen Hardy said it was a “privilege to walk with the Blackfriars community”.
“This is an exciting day for us, too,” Ms Hardy told the students and staff gathered at the shave off.
“Your total today has taken you almost $55,000 just for the shave, which is incredible. And the impact that brings is astounding. I hope you actually take a moment to reflect on that and understand how important this is.”
Not being afraid to talk about palliative care is very much something to be celebrated, she said.
“A lot of communities, a lot of people, don’t want to talk about palliative care, but it is a real part of life. And, so, I thank you for embracing that so beautifully.”
For Year 10 student Bailey Seiboth, the fundraiser was a chance to honour his late mum Tania Kozul, spent her final days in Mary Potter Hospice in 2023.
“Before her (cancer) fight, she was with me every day, helping me improve to become a better person and to have the best childhood I could,” Bailey said.
“Watching the decline that cancer forced her to go through was the worst thing I will ever experience in my life.”
Taking part in Blackfriars Greatest Shave was important to make sure his mum would “never be forgotten” he said.
“I still miss my mum every day and…supporting The Mary Potter Foundation means basically everything to me,” Bailey said.
“In her last days, the hospice did everything they could to help my mum. Even when things weren’t looking good, they didn’t give up…and they treated her like a person rather than a worthless statistic.”
The current Blackfriars head prefect, Nathan Bishop, who was also among the students from Years 6-12 to have their heads shaved this year, was overwhelmed by the support of the Blackfriars community.
“When the 2020 prefect group started this fundraiser, I’m not sure any of them ever saw us raising more than $55,000 for The Mary Potter Foundation,” Nathan said.
In 2024, Nathan Bishop created his own charity, PALS (Positive Actions, Lasting Solutions), to also support the work of the foundation.
“So, this is obviously a cause that means a lot to me personally, so to see so many students and staff wanting to be part of the Greatest Shave this year is fantastic,” he said.
“The Mary Potter Foundation relies 100 per cent on donations to continue to provide end-of-life care, so we’re really proud that Blackfriars continues to play its part to help.”
Nathan’s PALS team raised $8,790 for The Mary Potter Foundation at this year’s Walk for Love – the second-highest fundraising group of the 2026 event.
Blackfriars Director of Wellbeing Anthea Osborne thanked the volunteer barbers from Deano’s Barbershop and Saeid Barber Shop, as well as, from Studio 38 Hair Salon, old scholar Gianni Macolino (BPS’20) – whose Prefect group initiated the Greatest Shave – for giving up their time to support this year’s event.
“The support of the community for this fundraiser has been fantastic and we’re so lucky to have that backing, including our barbers,” Ms Osborne said.
“We cannot thank them enough for giving up their time to be here today.”
Principal David Ruggiero was proud of the school’s continued commitment to supporting end-of-life care.
“For many young people, palliative care is not something that’s on their radar. I could not be more proud of the boys’ commitment to this cause,” he said.
