18 Melissa Rigby -Hair Shave Fundraiser Butterfly Effect Competition Butterfly Effect Competition The Butterfly Effect has established itself as Australia’s leading female pairs CrossFit competition, raising thousands of dollars each year for the Butterfly foundation. We have provided a platform to raise awareness against negative body image and eating disorders by switching the focus to what bodies are capable of, rather than what they look like. Unfortunately many women in fitness have body image issues and we found that by openly talking about it, bringing women together and celebrating accomplishments has helped 100’s of women look past what they look like in order to achieve health and happiness. This is why the Butterfly Foundation is a perfect fit for what we are aiming to do. Melissa Rigby – Hair Shave Fundraiser In March 2021, on my 26th birthday, I shaved my head to raise funds to help the Butterfly Foundation build Wandi Nerida, the first residential treatment centre for eating disorders in Australia. The driving force of my fundraiser was to celebrate the recovery journey of my younger sister, Liana. My family and I wouldn’t be in the place we are now without the support of organisations like Butterfly, and I wanted to help give that gift of recovery to someone else’s family too. Thanks to generosity of many wonderful people in my life, together we were able to raise just over $6,500. In addition to the physical dollars raised, I think the other most impactful aspect of the fundraising was the conversations. Doing something a bit radical, like a head shave, gave people a reason to reach out and I heard from so many that I hadn’t expected to hear from. Colleagues I didn’t know very well, acquaintances and high school friends that I hadn’t spoken to for years. They all started getting in touch with me to share their stories and experiences with body image and eating disorders. I’m so grateful for the many opportunities I had to have open and transparent conversations about these issues and promote the amazing work of the Butterfly Foundation. To this day I have continued to shave my head. It is the most empowering haircut I’ve ever had, and whenever anyone asks me about it I’m proud to say, “I did it for Butterfly”.