A Histon schoolgirl has taken the chop and donated her hair for charity, raising over £1000 in the process. Amanda Borrill talked to Madelyn Wilsing about what inspired her to give up her luscious locks to help others.
For children undergoing cancer treatment, losing their hair can have a devastating impact. Since 2006, the Little Princess Trust has been there to help, providing free real hair wigs to children and young people up to 24 years, who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions. Having had to put a hold on receiving donations of hair due to COVID restrictions, the Little Princess Trust is now once again accepting hair from kind donors and Madelyn (Mady to her friends) Wilsing, has wasted no time getting involved.
Histon resident Mady, along with her parents David and Heather, came to live in the village five years ago with the US Military. A year 7 student at Impington Village College, Mady was very keen to tell how she became inspired to take the chop for this incredible cause:
“I originally wanted to cut my hair because someone close to me had a small scare. I began thinking about children who are forced to go through cancer treatment and how they often lose their hair. I did a little research and found out I could donate my hair and take some of the burden off of these children. Fortunately, my friend did not have cancer but I vowed to cut my hair anyway. I picked the Little Princess Trust because they make wigs specially designed for children with cancer, free of charge. Patients can then concentrate on receiving the best medical care and not have to worry about getting a wig during what is surely the hardest time of their life”.
Honoured with the task of cutting Mady’s hair was mobile barber/hairdresser Tom Lown. Tom removed a whopping 14 inches of Mady’s glorious hair; every strand of which will be donated to help someone going through gruelling cancer treatment.
Not happy to settle for just donating her hair for wigs, Mady also set herself a target to raise £550 for the Little Princess Trust. At the time of writing, donations stand at an incredible £1433!
I asked Mady how she feels after having taken the plunge and, at the same time, raise such an incredible amount of money:
“It definitely feels different with short hair… but in a good way. I hoped to raise around £500 but it has gone way over! I never expected to raise this much money. The trust can make a wig for £500 so each £500 I raise is another wig”.
“I will leave the site up for a little while longer in case anyone wants to donate after reading this article”.
From Mady’s kindness, many children will benefit and I asked her for one final piece of advice to others thinking of sending their lockdown locks to charity:
“My advice to others who are considering cutting and donating – do it! It’s just hair. It will grow back”.
To donate to Mady’s fundraiser for the Little Princess Trust, click here. More information on how to donate hair to the Trust can also be found at their website.