Short cut to success for caring Kaitlyn, 4
AVALLEY four-year-old has grown her hair for a year to donate it to a charity which provides real hair wigs to children diagnosed with cancer.
Kaitlyn Pover, from Sharneyford, has grown her hair since the first lockdown before getting it cut off on April 15.
The hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other conditions.
Mum Hayley said: “Since lockdown, we couldn’t get a haircut and I said to her ‘your hair’s grown so much you could donate it to the charity, and we can make a little wig for a girl’.
“I explained it all to her and she was dead keen on doing it. We looked it up and found it was the Little Princess Trust that did it and the website explained that they really need 12 inches. They’ve got a lot of smaller donations already.”
After returning to school at Sharneyford Primary School this week, Kaitlyn’s story was highlighted in a school assembly.
Hayley, who lives with husband Karl along with her three children, Kaitlyn and her siblings, Alistair, two, and Olivia, 10 months, said Kaitlyn was telling everyone about her hair growing challenge.
She said: “The next couple of lockdowns came and I thought we’d have it cut but another lockdown came. She’s been growing it for a year and she told her teachers a year ago that she’s going to grow her hair, and she’s been telling everybody about it.
“You can see how happy and delighted she is – now it’s going to be made into a wig for a little girl who’s having cancer treatment and has lost their hair.”
Hayley said the long hair did cause some problems, with tangles and lugs proving difficult to maintain.
Kaitlyn had her hair finally cut at hairdressers Studio 29 in Bacup. The hair will now be sent to the charity in an envelope and Hayley plans to include a letter, telling the story of where it has come from.
“Just seeing her face beaming from ear to ear, she feels like she’s done something really nice for somebody,” said Hayley.
“She was jumping up and down with happiness because people were saying how wonderful she is. It just brought so much joy to her.”