Last April, a special event occurred at The Salvation Army’s Agincourt Temple Community Church in Toronto. After the Palm Sunday service, the congregation gathered in the gym to watch Tayo Oyerinde get a haircut.

This was no ordinary clip job. Tayo had not had a haircut since the summer of 2023, in anticipation of this day. And it was not going to be a trim, either.

The 12-year-old was getting his head shaved.

“Tayo saw a need.” Captain Scott Allen

“Helping Others”

Captains Cathy and Scott Allen, then the pastors at Agincourt Temple Community Church, had suggested in the fall of 2024 that Tayo get his hair cut for a Partners in Mission fundraiser, part of an annual self-denial campaign that provides the necessary money to carry out the ministry of The Salvation Army worldwide.

He readily agreed.

“Tayo is a junior soldier, an official young member of The Salvation Army, and has been helping out at church since he was young,” says his mother, Lieutenant Bobbi Oyerinde, who was training to become a pastor at the Army’s College for Officer Training (CFOT) in Toronto at that time. “He volunteered at the food bank and at the kettles at Christmastime. This was just another way for him to give back and help others.”

In fact, Tayo let his hair grow for an extra six months, so that it would be that much longer when the time came.

Seeing a Need

That time came after the Palm Sunday service. Word had gone out before the event through church announcements, social media, and family and friends, so there were dozens of well-wishers in attendance.

Tayo was placed on a chair in the centre of the church’s gymnasium. The Allens provided scissors and hair clippers and many of those assembled took turns cutting and shaving his head, including his brother.

“He enjoyed that,” says Tayo.

“We were proud of him,” says Captain Scott. “We told Tayo that he was brave, and that what he had done was selfless.”

It had been hoped that the event would raise $1,000 but more than $3,000 was collected.

Tayo is planning to grow out his hair again for this year’s Partners in Mission fundraiser at the Salvation Army church in Maple Creek, Sask., where his mother is now the pastor.

“He saw a need,” says Captain Scott. “Tayo was willing to sacrifice all of his hair to help raise funds to enable The Salvation Army to continue its work as a beacon of hope, providing support and transformation in more than 130 countries around the world.”

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