Northwestel and its employees have together raised $8000.00 for the Canadian Cancer Society at the annual Northwestel Head Shave, a thousand dollars more than last year. A crowd of supporters gathered in the atrium of the Elijah Smith Building at lunchtime on Friday to cheer on three Northwestel employees who had their hair shaved or cut to support people living with cancer.

The funds raised include pledges collected by the three employees, as well as $2500.00 from Northwestel.

The employees who volunteered for the Head Shave are Tekno Budi, Deb Enoch and Cynthia Friedrich. In addition to the funds raised, Enoch and Friedrich donated their long hair to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program. The program works together with the Canadian Cancer Society to create real-hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. (http://www.pantene.com/en-ca/beautiful-lengths-cause/)

“I had a good feeling after the event took place and I think the other two volunteers did as well,” said Northwestel employee Cynthia Friedrich, who organized the event and had her head shaved. “It was a lot of fun to be part of this and to have the support of others, but it’s also a very serious issue. It means a lot to me personally to help out, because a number of my close friends have been impacted by cancer. One of the other volunteers lost her mother to cancer last year and that’s what motivated her. We want to do what we can to prevent others from having to suffer through the effects of cancer.”

The owner of the Phoenix Hair Studio, Joseph Blackstock, volunteered his time to cut and shave hair at the head shave event.

“We are very proud of the Northwestel employees who volunteer and contribute to this event,” said Northwestel CFO and VP of Corporate Services Jason Bilsky. “It’s such a worthwhile cause and Northwestel is very pleased to support the efforts of our staff by adding $2500.00 to the amount these employees raised. So many lives are touched by cancer and we’re happy to do what we can to support the Cancer Society and those affected by cancer.”

In 2010, Northwestel contributed more than $600,000 in cash and in-kind donations to many northern community groups. Throughout its history, Northwestel has played a key role in the economic, social and cultural development of the North. Northwestel is recognized as a key contributor to the well-being of northern communities through its community investment program and the volunteer contributions of its employees.

Northwestel provides complete telecommunications solutions and entertainment services in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, northern British Columbia and High Level, Alberta. The company’s operations span nearly 4 million square kilometres of the most remote and rugged areas of Canada.