Nine-year-old Limerick girl cuts 15-inches off her ‘unique’ hair cut to support charity
A KIND-HEARTED Limerick girl has ‘locks of love’ for her school after getting her long hair cut to raise money for an autism sensory unit.
Nine-year-old Sofia Hourigan, from Scanlon Park in Castleconnell cut her unique “reddish, gingerish brown hair” which went down 15 inches to her waist.
In doing so, she has raised €5,000 to help Castleconnell National School’s wish to open a sensory unit.
And the generous youngster’s act will not just benefit her school: for her long locks – which Sofia says sometimes sparkle golden in the sunlight – will now be sent off to be made into a wig for a child who has lost their hair.
Her mother Maura Hourigan-Sims said Sofia would often get stopped in shops by strangers describing her hair as “gorgeous”.
“People praised it as unique from when she was young, so she grew up saying her hair was unique. I wasn’t sure we should cut that much off her hair, but then Sofia said it would be lovely for a child who had lost their hair to be stopped and get those same compliments,” she said.
A family friend, Emily Healy, chopped off Sofia’s long hair, and the family had a party to celebrate her brave act.
Having been diagnosed with autism before Christmas, it was this which inspired her to help fundraise for her school’s planned sensory unit, which will cost €27,000 to complete.
Asked how she feels without her long hair now, the nine-year-old said: “It’s a lot easier to wash, easier to dry and do a lot of stuff with it now. I think I want to keep it short!”
Just before the scissors came out, she said: “I was feeling excited – only a small bit scared! I wondered what would happen if I didn’t like how I looked. But luckily I did like it.”
While Castleconnell National School were grateful for Sofia’s gesture – presenting her with a certificate in a morning assembly – her classmates were even more thrilled.
That’s because not one of them was given homework on the day after she had the cut.
Her friends have also given her short haircut their seal of approval too.
“They say they really like my new look, they say it suits me,” Sofia smiled.
The youngster wasn’t the only member of their family who got in on the fundraising act.
Her stepfather Matthew Sims completed the David Goggins challenge, which saw him run four miles every four hours over the course of 48 hours with all money raised also going to the school appeal.
Maura revealed her daughter had wanted to cut her hair for a while – and it was just a case of waiting until it was lengthy enough.
“Sofia has always been a very kind-hearted little girl so this is nothing out of the ordinary for her to want to do. Since she’s been very small, she’s asked about cutting her hair. There was a girl she saw doing it when she was young, and since then, she’d asked and asked. But we did want to have a significant amount so it was enough to make enough of a wig,” she explained.
You can donate to Sofia’s appeal online at GoFundMe or telephone 061-377594.