Matlock girl gives hair to Little Princess Trust to help ill children

Ruby Cattinni donating her hair for the second time

It is the second time that Darley Dale Primary School pupil Ruby Perkins, 11, has donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, and it took her three years to regrow it to the right length.

Mum Liza Cattini, 50, said: “Ruby raised around £1,000 for the charity last time, but this was more just about giving the hair and raising awareness to encourage more donations.

“She first got the idea in infant school when she heard about one of the older pupils who had done it. Now Ruby is a bit older herself, hopefully she can inspire someone else in the same way.”

How Ruby looked before her first donation in 2016.

She added: “After it had mostly grown back, Ruby decided she was going to do it again so just kept it going until she reached the minimum seven inches. It takes a lot of hair to make even one wig.

“She’s already talking about her next donation, but she’ll be a teenager by then, so we’ll see what happens.

The Little Princess Trust provides free real hair wigs to children and young people, aged up to 24, who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions.

It also funds research into new treatments which could be less aggressive and less toxic.

Liza said: “My father died from cancer and we’ve had a few friends and relatives affected by it. At the school, two members of staff and one parent have been through treatment recently, so it feels very close to us.

“Donating hair feels like you’re doing something a bit more tangible to help someone, not just giving money into a big pot.”

She added: “Some parents can be a bit precious about things like hair, and we were both a bit nervous having spent years washing it and putting it in pretty plaits, but it was quite exciting too.

“I’m very proud of Ruby. It’s a lovely experience for her to do something like this, and a nice way to get more children and parents to think about whether they could grow a few more inches too.

Ruby’s fundraising page is still available online from 2016. To make a donation, go to https://bit.ly/2UOAv4Z.