As the nation returned to barbers and hair salons this week, 13-year-old Annabelle has managed not only to a get a long overdue haircut, but also to raise over £1,000 for the Little Princess Trust.
The idea to get a sponsored haircut first occurred to Annabelle in 2020. She had been watching Netflix series ‘Alexa and Katie’, in which Alexa starts to lose her hair due to Cancer and Katie supports her. Annabelle, who has had hair down to her waist for some time, was inspired to launch a sponsored chop of her hair, 19 inches in total. She decided to raise money for The Little Princess Trust, a charity that create wigs from hair donations for children suffering hair loss because of Cancer treatment or Alopecia, as well as funding research into childhood cancers.
Annabelle visited Denziloe hair designers for the chop on Wednesday 14th April. Little Princess Trust will now turn her hair into a wig, the process taking several weeks as it must be hand stitched. To date Annabelle has raised £1,020. You can still donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/annabelles-sponsored-haircut, 100% of the funds go straight to the charity.
Annabelle is thrilled with the amount raised for such an important charity:
“Alexa’s story in ‘Alexa and Katie’ shows that losing hair is very traumatic for children, especially when they are already having to deal with a serious disease. I have had long hair my whole life and it is very special to me. But the programme made me realise that others could benefit from it more. I hope the money raised will benefit lots of children and my hair helps its new owner feel a bit better when they get their wig.”
Burgess Hill Girls Head Liz Laybourn is immensely proud of Annabelle’s achievement:
“Over the last year I have been bowled over by the thoughtfulness of our pupils, not only to think of others but to throw themselves into a challenge and see what they can actually do for others. Annabelle’s achievement is a fantastic example to us all.”
Watch a short video of Annabelle’s haircut here: