Chesterfield woman set for charity headshave to honour memory of her inspirational father

Mariana Garcia will shave her long locks on December 20 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and The Little Princess Trust

Mariana Garcia from Brampton hopes to raise as much money as she can for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her father Manuel who sadly passed away from throat cancer in 2015.

She also wants donate her hair to The Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides free real hair wigs for children and young people who have lost their hair through cancer or other illness.

The headshave will take place on Monday, December 20 – a poignant day for 41-year-old Mariana as it would have been her father’s 70th birthday.

She said: “At the end of the day, my hair is kind of like a material thing, it’s part of my body but not myself as me.

"One night I sat down with my husband in October and said, you know me I like to do charity work and I’d like to do this one thing at the end of the year.

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"A few of my friends have had cancer, some are facing it right now, my dad died with that diagnosis and any of us or our loved ones can have in the future.

"As you probably know, this illness is not only difficult for the patient but for their loved ones, too.

"In my case, my dad was not only my parent but also my teacher in life and my best friend, so it was hard to see him suffering that much and losing him changed my life forever – but thanks to that I’m an End of Life Doula now.”

She added: “I know it’s winter, I know it’s going to be horrible but I think it’s quite significant.

"The idea behind this is not only to raise some money to help people with cancer via Macmillan, and to have a wig made with my hair for a child with cancer via The Little Princess Trust, but also to create some awareness about this illness and to honour the lives of those who had or have cancer.”

Mariana, who is also a psychologist, has already smashed her original fundraising target of £500 but hopes to raise more ahead of the big day.

To donate visit https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/mariana-garcia.

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