Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dedicated Angus Special Olympian Sarah braves the shave for Macmillan

Sarah Anderson braved the shave to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Pic: Gareth Jennings/DCT Media.
Sarah Anderson braved the shave to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Pic: Gareth Jennings/DCT Media.

A determined young Angus woman has ‘braved the shave’ in the latest challenge of her remarkable fundraising and sporting life.

Sarah Anderson was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, with her Carnoustie parents warned 33 years ago her chances of survival were slim.

She proved experts and doubters wrong by learning to walk and went on to schooling in Carnoustie and at Angus College.

Sarah Anderson with her mum, Kathy and dad, Colin. Pic: Gareth Jennings/DCT Media.

And through the Special Olympics, Sarah found a platform which has allowed her confidence and sporting talent to grow – amassing a huge haul of ten-pin bowling medals at events around the globe.

The dedicated fundraiser has also taken on everything from Dundee’s Kiltwalk to an abseil down the tower of the city university.

Sarah was seated for her latest charity feat, but it was no less daunting as she had all of her locks chopped to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Hairdresser Linda Merrilees about the start the charity chop. Pic: Gareth Jennings/DCT Media.

She said: “I decided to do brave the shave in honour of everyone that’s either lost their life to cancer or are currently battling it.

“I also know a few people with cancer. This is a great cause and I’m happy to help.”

Linda Merrilees of JEHL Hair and Beauty in Carnoustie’s Queen Street has been Sarah’s mum, Kathy’s hairdresser for many years and carried out the shave.

Donations to Sarah’s fundraising page can be made here.

Determination

Her dad, Colin, said: “Sarah’s difficulties affect both her mental capacity for learning and her physical abilities, but she is so determined.

“When she sets her mind to something she just gets on with it.

“She did her first big fundraiser back in 2009 and that was split between the Tayside Special Olympics and Cats Protection.”

Sarah, who lives in Arbroath in supported housing, has been a Cats Protection volunteer locally for many years, helping out at both their Kinaldie rescue centre and town charity shop.

Her sporting adventures have taken her to competitions in far-flung locations including Rome, China and Abu Dhabi.

Her trophy cabinet contains five gold,  seven silver and three bronze medals from the national, European and World games events Sarah has competed at since her 2005 Special Olympics debut in Glasgow.

She is a previous winner of the Angus Sports Personality of the Year award for people with a disability.

At the age of 22, Sarah also released her autobiography.

Proud To Be Me revealed her determination to succeed in the hope her story would encourage others to “reach for the stars.”

Proceeds from the book went to Tayside Special Olympics and Cats Protection.

Brave the Shave

The Macmillan fundraiser has seen a number of Taysiders shave their heads in support of the national campaign.

Forfar youngster Chloe-Anne Carnegie went under the clippers after striking up a friendship with a cancer-stricken neighbour.

In May, Barnhill primary pupil Lola Lucas donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust for the third time after taking part.