Holland Street School hosts stationary bike marathon and beard shave as part of Telethon fundraiser

Telethon mascot and Geraldton girl Pippa Funneman continues to inspire the community to help sick children, this time by shaving the grey beard of a friend called “Cowboy” at a local special education school. The 11-year-old is holding her second Telethon fundraiser at Holland Street School on Friday, September 20, when she will help shave Ian “Cowboy” Logan’s beard, which has not had the chop in more than 45 years. Pippa lives with cerebral palsy and knows firsthand how Telethon can touch the lives of disadvantaged children. The charity has supported her care at Perth Children’s Hospital and helped cover specialist medical costs. As a thank you, Pippa and Cowboy are encouraging the Geraldton community to donate and help them reach their fundraising goal of $10,000 for Telethon. Already, the fundraiser has reached $6061. Wheelchair users will have the opportunity to ride an accessible e-bike in the carpark at 11.30am, while staff and sponsors will join in on the fun and ride stationary bikes for hours. Cowboy and two friends will arrive at the school on motorbikes at 1.30pm and the shave will take place within the hour. Lunch will be provided to the riders, while ice cream and coffee vans will set up at the school for the day. Pippa’s mum Rochelle Funneman said she looked forward to the community coming out and catching up with Pippa, as well as supporting the cause. “I feel children and families go through similar things, if not worse, so it is a big, special event that triggers my heart to get our community involved,” she said. “Cowboy came to me at the end of last year. He’s a family friend who has known me since I was a baby and I’ve never seen him without a beard. “He said he wanted to raise $10,000 for Telethon but Pippa had to shave his beard. “I thought he was joking, because you never know if he’s serious or not.” Ms Funneman said Cowboy had a big heart and was doing a great deed fundraising for Telethon and children like Pippa. “Ian has a little soft spot for Pippa where he used to yodel to Pip and she would crack up,” Ms Funneman said. The Telethon Weekend 2024 will take place at RAC Arena on October 19 and 20.