Ava donates hair-raising amount to kids charity

NINE-year-old Ava Ward loves her long hair yet, in a moment of kind-heartedness and generosity, she has given some of it away, all in the name of a good cause.

The St Catherine’s pupil, recently underwent ‘the big chop’ at Muse Hair and Soul salon on John Wesley Street, having an impressive 14 inches of her hair cut off and donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs to children and young people living with hair loss. A free service, the charity provides around 2,000 wigs every year through financial and hair donations. Ava’s donation means that one full free wig can now be given out.

In addition to donating her hair, Ava’s JustGiving fundraising page meant she could also hand over £800 in donations to the charity, collected in just over three weeks.

Her mum Naomi explained, “Ava wanted to do something for charity and, after kicking around a few ideas, she decided to have her hair cut to donate to the Little Princess Trust. Ava has been growing her hair for three years now and said ‘I want to help children going through treatment’. Ava is proud that some child is going to benefit from her kindness.”

Naomi admits there were some tears as the hair came off, adding that she, dad Patrick and little sister Emily are all extremely proud of Ava’s actions. She also took time to thank everyone who donated money to the cause. She said, “There was a mixture of emotions but overall, a sense of pride at her bravery in doing something so selfless and wonderful. We are so grateful to everyone who has donated to the JustGiving page especially now when times are so tough, and to those who sent messages of support and encouragement.

“We couldn’t be any prouder of the most selfless, kind, caring and amazing little girl who is always thinking of everyone else.”

A special thank-you was issued to Kelsey for her reassurance to Ava during the process.

Ava also received a special thank you message from the charity for her efforts, which read, “What an absolute superstar….Thanks for her amazing hair donation and fantastic fundraising total. Everyone at Little Princess Trust is grateful for Ava’s brilliant support in helping us give hair and hope to our wonderful wig recipients.”