'Brave' little girl donates hair to child suffering from cancer (From Enfield Independent)

'Brave' little girl Lilia Cooper donates hair to child suffering from cancer

2:55pm Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News By Hermione Wright

A little girl is having her thick blonde locks chopped off tonight to donate to a child suffering from cancer.

Lilia Cooper, seven, is giving eight inches of her beautiful thick hair to the Little Princess Trust, which provides wigs for children across the UK who have lost their hair through cancer treatment.

The Lavender Primary School pupil, who lives in Lavender Hill, is also raising money through donations and has totted up more than £550 to date.

She is very excited about the big cut and and said she "would like another little girl to enjoy having long hair and be happy.”

Her mother Emma said: “She is really pleased that somebody else will have her long hair – she is an amazing girl, she is really thoughtful.”

Lilia decided it was time to get her hair cut and her and her mother thought it would be a good idea to find a way for it to help other people. 

She was planning on raising £350 – the amount is costs to make a wig, but the donations spiralled out of control so she raised the bar to £700.

Ms Cooper said: “She has got really lovely long hair and it is half way down her back and she decided she would quite like it short.

“I thought that is fine, have it cut, but let’s see if we can do something with it because it is quite thick and people comment on it all the time so we thought lets do something for charity.”

Lilia has grown her hair over the summer to make sure it is as long as possible for tonight’s chop, which will take place at home with her friends and family around her.

The charity requires seven inches of hair to make a wig, but Lilia’s hair - which will be cut to jaw-length, is an extra inch long to ensure there are no problems.

Ms Cooper said she may have been a little upset about the big hair cut if Lilia wasn’t donating it to such a good cause.

She said: “It is fine, I think because she wants to do something really good with it. If she wasn’t doing this amazing thing it might be a bit sad but we know that is going to a really good cause.”

A statement from the Little Princess Trust said: “Everyone at the Little Princess Trust is amazed at how kind and brave Lilia is to have her hair cut to help another child.

“This selfless act, along with the considerable amount of money that she has raised, will help us to continue to provide real-hair wigs to boys and girls across the country that have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment. 

“We would like to thank Lilia and her generous supporters for their kindness.”

To donate, click here.