Thousands of kids with cancer are smiling thanks to Holly and Bree

After her friend’s daughter lost her hair during chemotherapy, Holly Christensen made her a beautiful princess wig from soft yarn. Upon seeing the joy it brought the little girl, Holly went on to make thousands of wigs for other kids with cancer!

Checking her Facebook page, Holly Christensen smiled seeing a message from an old friend from nursing school. After graduation, they’d gone in different directions. Rachel Mecham had become a labor and delivery nurse while Holly had specialized in oncology—which, she learned, was why Rachel was reaching out. A lump formed in Holly’s throat as she read that Rachel’s 3-year-old daughter, Lily, was battling cancer.

I’m so sorry, Holly typed back, and asked how Lily was handling her chemotherapy treatments.

The hardest part was losing her hair, Rachel shared. She has a wig but she doesn’t like to wear it because it’s scratchy.

A mother of two little girls herself, Holly’s heart ached for little Lily, and she started searching online for a cute, soft hat that she could send her. But when she came across a tutorial for making a Rapunzel wig out of yarn, Holly knew she’d found something even better.

Holly’s daughters loved the Disney princesses and playing dress-up. I bet Lily does too, Holly smiled.

Though not a crafter, Holly carefully followed the directions and created a long, butter-yellow swishy braid adorned with purple and blue flowers. Then she shipped it to Lily. Soon after, she got a message from Rachel: Lily put the wig on and twirled around, Rachel wrote. Then she looked in the mirror and smiled for the first time in weeks.

Holly’s heart swelled, and she marveled at how a wig had worked such magic. Every child with cancer should be given one of these wigs to help lift their spirits, Holly mused. And suddenly, an idea bloomed in her heart.

An incredible transformation

Holly began making more Rapunzel wigs and donating them to children at a local hospital. They were such a hit that she created a Gofundme page to raise money to help pay for yarn. When an acquaintance, Bree Hitchcock, saw her plea, she volunteered to help and encouraged Holly to turn her heartfelt project into a nonprofit. In 2015, The Magic Yarn Project (Themagicyarnproject.com) was born. Realizing kids