A Saskatchewan fundraiser brought in $5,104 for Do More Ag
Staff Writer
Farms.com
As 2020 has been a hard year on everyone, Roger McComas wanted to do something good for the ag community.
He is a territory sales manager at Bayer and is based in Shellbrook, Sask.
In May, Saskatchewan was well into the COVID-19 lockdown. Stress in the industry was high because of the pandemic but also because farmers were in the midst of seeding.
“I thought about my retailers and my grower customers who were seeding their crops and trying to get their supplies. (Some) different regulations were in effect. Retailers trying to serve their customers, and growers trying to get their products and supplies, faced extra challenges.… There was anxiety out there,” McComas told Farms.com.
“I know one of the narratives of Do More Ag is ‘It starts with me’ and I thought ‘Is there some way I can help with the challenges we are facing specifically around mental health?’”
McComas decided to donate $200 to The Do More Agriculture Foundation. He also came up with the idea of challenging his retail partners to donate money to the foundation. In “payment” for the funds, he would grow a mullet.
“I put forth a challenge on May 6. I sent out the link and said, ‘If by Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m. we've raised or I have commitments of $300, … I would grow this mullet until the end of May.’ It had already been two months since my last haircut,” said McComas. If “somehow, I could get $500, I would grow this mullet to the end of June. If my retail partners committed to donate $1,000 to Do More Ag, I would grow the mullet to the end of July.”
The retail partners delivered. By May 8, McComas had promises of $1,070 in donations.
Since he was already going to grow his mullet until the end of July, McComas decided to keep going with the fundraiser.
“I decided, as long as people are donating to a great cause, I will continue to grow” the mullet, he said. “I put a few photos on Facebook a couple of times and I said I was going in for a haircut. Then I’d get a little more money. So, I’d leave it.”
The most recent donation came in Oct. 30 and the grand total sits at $5,104 for Do More Ag.
McComas had a haircut after the last donation, but he just trimmed his mullet so it “looked a little more respectable,” he said.
McComas isn’t still actively looking for people to donate. He might try a similar fundraiser in the future to help raise money for the organization, he said. Do More Ag is a very important organization that helps support mental health in agriculture, he added.
“I really encourage people to talk more, ask more and listen more. Share how you're feeling and don't be afraid to do that. If you're having some challenges, there are support systems in place, like family, friends, and Do More Ag that are there to help,” said McComas.
He thanks those individuals who supported him in his “mullets for mental health” fundraising campaign.
Photo credit: Roger McComas photo