Hannah Mellors, HANNAH'S HAIR OF GOLD
SEVEN-year-old Hannah Mellors was watching a television show during the school holidays in January that featured a young girl who had cancer.
The girl in the show, Alexa and her friend Kate, shaved their hair because Alexa was going to lose her hair anyway.
In the show, their parents then bought them wigs to cover up their shaved heads.
Intrigued, Hannah asked her mum, Kacey Forbes, about how wigs were made.
She then suggested that maybe she should keep growing her own hair and cut it off later in the year for a wig, as someone would love my hair colour for a wig because not lots of girls have my colour, Kacey recalls of Hannahs suggestion.
The Cardiff North Public School student then began patiently growing her hair throughout the year, awaiting the perfect length.
Once the time came, a fundraiser was held at Hannahs school to raise money for Variety.
A hairdresser, Tamara, from Smith St. Hair and Beauty at Charlestown came to the school for the big cut in front of Hannahs fellow classmates.
The hairdresser sectioned Hannahs hair into small ponytails, and family members, teachers and the school principal each got to chop off a ponytail.
But to make a cut they each had to make a donation and sponsor Hannah. The students could also make a gold coin donation.
She got nervous the day before, Kacey said.
Not for the cut so much but with it being done in front of the whole school and the hype that came with it.
She was more excited, kept asking how much longer in the weeks leading up to it and then kept saying, I wish it was tomorrow.
Wigs can cost thousands of dollars and may last only a few years, meaning families can spend tens of thousands of dollars on the purchase of wigs for their child.
In the lead up to the haircut, Hannah managed to raise more than $1800 in donations and sponsorship.
The money raised will go to the Variety Children's Charity, allowing more wigs and other vital equipment to be donated to children in need.
Our initial goal was $500 however in first two hours of sharing the story and the page link we were past it, so we continued to increase our goal, Kacey said.
Its been so much bigger than we imagined. We are so proud of her and what she has done.
Hannah said she was super happy and proud of herself following the haircut in front of her classmates.
They were amazed and couldnt believe I was cutting so much off, Hannah said.
My friends were excited too.
