11-year-old Lissycasey school girl cuts 14 inches from her ponytail to raise funds for Rapunzel Foundation
AN 11-year-old from Lissycasey has gathered together sizeable funds for the Rapunzel Foundation after cutting off her long ponytail for the charity, and the fundraiser is still ongoing.
On Thursday, June 24, Sarah McSweeney donated fourteen inches of hair to the Rapunzel Foundation after growing it patiently for a couple of years.
Mary, Sarah’s mother, explained that while they got Sarah’s hair cut regularly in order to keep it in good condition, Sarah was always very diligent to remind the hairdressers she visited that they could not take too much off.
Mary added: “She has a great level of determination. When she puts her mind to something, she sticks to it, and especially when it’s for charity.
“We have a GoFundMe, which has raised €1300, but she has also got an awful lot of cash donations as well, from people who couldn’t use the online fundraiser. At the moment, Sarah has gathered €430 in cash also, which is no small amount at all.”
Mary went on to say that the whole family are “overwhelmed and humbled” by the amount of support they have received from the community, both financially and sentimentally; Mary recalls that she received a barrage of texts wishing Sarah the best of luck on the morning she cut her hair. Mary admitted that the family have not advertised Sarah’s fundraiser all that much, and so she finds it incredible that word has spread enough for them to raise the money they have, with such a small group of donors.
A few years ago, Sarah decided that she would grow her hair long, and when Mary suggested donating to the Rapunzel Foundation when she was older, Sarah was eager to start the process right away rather than wait.
Mary continued, “She persevered through the tears and tangles, and she said as soon as she had it cut that she would grow it out again to donate in another few years’ time. Sarah has always been complimented on the colour of her hair, and I think she felt that it would be nice to let someone else get those compliments when they were badly in need of one.”
Sarah’s hair will be shipped off to New Zealand to begin the process of using it in the making of a wig, something Sarah herself called, “kind of strange, but all for a good cause.”
Mary commented that on the day of Sarah’s hair appointment, she brought her daughter to McDonald’s as a treat, only for a kind stranger to pay for their meal.
“It was a random act of kindness that really brought an already great day to a nice end, and hopefully that person might be reading and know that her gesture was genuinely appreciated.”
by Conor Clohessy