Kettering schoolgirl to donate her hair to charity

Kiera Maher, a student at Hall Meadow Primary School, is raising money ahead of her haircut on Tuesday, November 12.

Kiera's proud mum, Shona Dove, said: "Bless her, she loves her long hair. For ages whenever I have wanted to get it trimmed she says no."

Kiera's change of heart came about when she started to think more about her Nanny, Paula King.

Shona said: "My mum passed away seven years ago and [Kiera's] been thinking about her but she didn't want to say anything to me in case it upset me."

When Kiera told her mum she was thinking of cutting off her hair in memory of her nanny, she was worried her mum would also be upset because she loves her long hair.

Kiera also told her mum she feels bad having long hair when other people have no hair.

Kiera will be donating her hair to the Little Princess Trust, who make real hair wigs for children who lose their own hair to cancer or other conditions.

Writing on her fundraising page, Kiera said: "I feel very lucky to have such long hair and I want to give other children a chance to be happier and feel good about themselves."

The children who need the wigs are given them for free. The Little Princess Trust need a minimum of seven inches of hair from each donation, so Kiera has decided to donate eight inches of her hair.

Shona said: "We used a tape measure and we think [after the cut] it will be about should length."

Shona cannot remember the last time Kiera had her hair cut so she thinks it will need a trim to make the donated hair all healthy and then Kiera will need a tidy up after the donated hair has been cut off.

Shona said she is really proud of Kiera for doing such a lovely thing, especially for fundraising on top of donating her hair.

Kiera has raised £155 of her £250 target so far. The Little Princess Trust say they rely solely on the effort of fundraisers and receive no formal funding.

You can find Kiera's Just Giving page here, where all the money donated goes directly to the Little Princess Trust.