Eight year old Phoebe Kendall from Pateley Bridge has raised over £500 for Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity and the Little Princess Trust simply by having a haircut!
Having always been her pride and joy, Phoebe’s hair was very long, flowing down below her waist. But on 22 December, Phoebe asked her hairdresser to give her a shorter haircut so that she could donate the cut hair to the Little Princess Trust, which uses donated hair to make real hair wigs for children that have lost their own hair through cancer treatment.
As this was such a big change for Phoebe, she also decided that she wanted to ask people to sponsor her to have her hair cut, and wanted to raise money for poorly babies so chose to support the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Harrogate District Hospital.
Phoebe said: “I wanted my hair to go to someone who didn’t have any as I would be very sad not to have hair. When Mummy’s friend said about being sponsored I wanted to help babies on Special Care. Harrogate Hospital has looked after me and my brother when we have been poorly on the children’s ward.”
Phoebe’s mum, Louise Kendall, a childminder in Pateley Bridge, said: “I am so proud of my daughter. Her hair has always been her pride and joy and it was a struggle to get her to have a trim! So when the night before her ‘trim’ appointment she said she would like to have a ‘big’ cut to send hair to little girls with no hair, I was lost for words. My friend suggested she was sponsored to do it to which she said she wanted to raise money for poorly babies at the hospital. Her aim was to raise £100 so to raise over £500 she is ecstatic. Everyone who knows Phoebe knows what her hair means to her so this is a massive gift for her to give!”
Phoebe’s hairdresser, Kate Marshall, was delighted to have the honour of cutting Phoebe’s hair following her own experience of the Special Care Baby Unit. She said: “I was privileged to be asked to cut Phoebe’s hair as she was donating it to The Little Princess Trust and wanted to raise money for SCBU which is very close to my heart due to giving birth to my twins 13 weeks early and then spending 14 weeks in three different special care units getting incredibly cared for. The staff at the unit are amazing. They really don’t get enough credit for the long, demanding hours that they put in.“
David Fisher, Community and Events Fundraiser at Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity, said: “Thanks to the amazing support of people like Phoebe, Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity is able to provide funds to pay for specialist equipment, research and patient and family support services for that would otherwise not be there, making a real difference to patients and their families when they need it most. Phoebe is an inspirational young lady, and we are very grateful for her kindness and thoughtfulness towards others. We would like to thank Phoebe and everyone who has sponsored her for their fantastic support.”
Anyone wanting to add their support for Phoebe’s fundraising can make a donation to her justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/Phoebe-kendall2.