Derbyshire schoolgirls donate waist-long locks and raise £5.5k to support children with cancer

Nine-year-old Tia Baker and Hattie Pride, who both attend Mundy Street School, in Lockton Avenue, Heanor, decided to grow and donate their hair to help children with cancer.

They had a total of 57cm of hair chopped off their long locks.

Tia and Hattie also organised a fundraiser for the wigs, reaching a total of £5.500.

Hattie’s mum Emma Pride said: “We are so proud of the girls, who were determined to do something positive for others and worked really hard to raise the money.

“We’d really like to say a massive thank you to absolutely everyone who has supported the girls from day one with all their fundraising events. It really has been overwhelming.”

Both the hair and the funds were donated to the Little Princess Trust.

The charity provides real hair wigs free of charge to children and young people who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other conditions.

Both girls heard about the Little Princess Trust during lockdown and separately decided to have their hair cut.

Apart from donating the hair, they worked together in an attempt to raise £1,100 to cover the costs of the two wigs being made.

To achieve that, the girls organised various fundraising events.

The pair made and sold treats at school and at a dance camp, held a cake and toy sale, arranged a red, white and blue week and organised a crazy hair day at their school.

They also wrote letters to local businesses asking them to donate prizes which they raffled off to raise more money.

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Among the generous companies who supported the girls by donating prizes were William Gregg Leisure Centre, in Heanor, which provided gift vouchers, West Midlands Safari Park, in Bewdley, donated tickets and Morley Hayes Hotel, in Ilkeston, donated afternoon tea.

Tia and Hattie were amazed to find out the donations totalled £5,158.85.

Afterwards, some more generous donations were made, bringing the total to the grand sum of £5,500.