An 11-year-old from Dundee has raised more than £1,100 after ‘braving the shave’ for charity and will donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust for the third time.
Lola Lucas was inspired to get involved with the Macmillan Cancer Support fundraiser ‘Brave the Shave’ as a way of raising money for a good cause, while also taking advantage of the opportunity to try a bold new look.
This isn’t the first time Lola’s hair has benefited a charity: She has donated it twice before to have it made into a wig for another child, who has lost their hair due to illness.
Lola first donated her hair at six years old to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to young people under the age of 24 who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other health conditions.
Lola explained: “I like to raise money for charities and for a wee while I’d wanted to shave my head.
“My hair was just below my shoulders before and I felt quite excited to shave it off, but also quite nervous.
“Afterwards, once it had been shaved, I just felt really cold!”
The £1,117 Lola has raised for the charity will go towards providing physical, financial and emotional support to help people with cancer and their families live life to the full.
The total raised is enough to fund a Macmillan nurse for one week to provide medical and emotional care to cancer patients.
Writing on her Brave the Shave fundraising page, Lola said: “I am braving the shave because I want to shave my head and thought it was a great chance to raise money for such a good cause!
“I know Macmillan help people so much when they’re going through cancer.”
Have you seen our TV ad yet? 📺 Why don't you share it with your friends and family to inspire them to #bravetheshave… pic.twitter.com/XHQ8KAQIKv
— Brave The Shave (@Brave_The_Shave) May 13, 2021
Proud dad Simon said: “When she was born she had loads of hair and I’d never seen her bald.
“There was a bit of having to explain to an 11-year-old about cancer properly and the fact that if she’s got a bald head, unfortunately people might stare at her. But, she doesn’t really care about that.
“I felt really proud. I’m always proud of the girls, whatever they do, but this just elevated that a bit.
How to #BravetheShave:
Step 1 – Sign up here 👉https://t.co/19OWOpgs7J
Step 2 – Pick a shave date 📅
Step 3 – Ask friends and family to sponsor you 👨👩👧👦
Step 4 – Shave, Shave, Shave! ✂️
Step 5 – Make a big difference to the lives of people with cancer 💚 pic.twitter.com/F2HK2rtn3J— Brave The Shave (@Brave_The_Shave) May 7, 2021
“People are just amazed that an 11-year old would want to do something like this. I want to encourage her to do more.
“I’ve done a couple of charity cycles and I asked her if that inspired her, but the answer was ‘no’ – it’s totally off her own back which is great.”
On top of her charity fundraising, Lola is committed to learning more about the world and spreading kindness wherever she goes, as part of the Respect Me Club at school.
Lola enthused: “We’re working on making a film to show the whole school about kindness. Being part of the club, I’ve learned more about being kind to everyone.”
Simon continued: “She just genuinely wants everybody to be happy and looked after.”
Though she hasn’t found it yet, Lola is keeping her eyes peeled for her next charity challenge, and for more ways to help others, too.