OGUNQUIT, Maine — Next time you see him, you may not recognize Selectman Rick Dolliver. But do that double take. it would be him
Less than his. But he.
For over two years, Driver had so much hair and a thick beard that you’d be forgiven for thinking Hollywood tapped him for a live-action adaptation of the old Captain Caveman cartoon. It was about Late 70’s.
In an interview Tuesday, Driver gave his take on how he’s looked over the past two years.
“I look like Charles Manson,” he said.
But that all changed on Wednesday, when Dolliver took a seat at his restaurant — That Place in Ogunquit on Shore Road — and completely shaved his unruly mane from his head to benefit the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. brought.
The shearing capped off a three-hour festival that included live and silent auctions that were part of Driver’s determination to raise $100,000 for the program.
Dolliver launched an online fundraiser some time ago, raising over $64,000 as of Tuesday. In an interview earlier this week, Driver expressed confidence that he will reach his goal by the time the final locks are lifted on Wednesday night.
“I will make sure Maine’s childhood cancer programs get $100,000,” he pledged Tuesday.
Sure enough, Driver reported Thursday morning that he and his fellow donors had raised at least $180,000.
MCCP is a nonprofit pediatric oncology program at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland. The center treats and donates blood to children diagnosed with cancer. Every penny raised goes directly to children, young people and families battling cancer here in Maine, Kelly said.
“This is not about me,” Driver said in a news release. But together we can make a difference in their lives.”
This isn’t the first time Driver has shaved heads for MCCP children. In 2013, we saw news reports that former President George HW Bush shaved his head in solidarity in support of his 2-year-old boy who had cancer and lost his hair as a result of treatment. The boy was the son of a Secret Service agent.
Driver liked what Bush did and decided to bring out the razor as well. In 2014, he grew his hair long and said he would cut it all off when he raised his $50,000 for a Maine children’s cancer program. On Tuesday, he said some were skeptical that he could raise such a large sum, but in the end he raised $51,000.
Driver got the idea to grow his hair out again after all barbershops and salons were closed more than two years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic began. This time, he said, it’s even hairier than in 2014. He worked in the sweltering kitchen of his restaurant, so his overgrown mop top was suitable for a rather hot summer, he said.
Drivever said long hair wasn’t his style. . Instead, he said, “I had short hair all my life” in middle school, high school, college and as a wrestler.
And now he has short hair again. Driver got the scissors on Wednesday, but getting the cut is a childhood cancer program in Maine, all of which cost him $180,000.
“They’re doing a tough job,” Driver said of the organization.
Driver added that he could not imagine a better organization and cause to raise the money.
“Anyone who has attended an event for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program knows that these children are fighting for their lives,” he said.
