Warwickshire boy gets hair cut after 12 months to make donation to wig charity

A THOUGHTFUL Henley boy has donated his hair to a charity that creates wigs for children and young people experiencing hair loss.

Eight-year-old Jimmy Brinkworth grew his hair until it was 12 inches long, a feat which took him a year to achieve.

He has now donated his hair to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides free real hair wigs to children and young people up to the age of 24. The organisation has provided more than 17,000 wigs to young people with hair loss.

On Monday, local barber Aaron Padmore, of Aaron’s Barber Shop in Henley, stepped in to cut Jimmy’s hair in front of his classmates, teachers, and family. Jimmy’s generosity is also expected to fetch around £600 for the charity.

Jimmy, who attends Henley Primary School, was inspired to grow his hair out and donate it to charity after seeing a little girl with no hair whilst on holiday in Dawlish in Devon. He was curious as to why this was and after his granny, Linda Brinkworth, told him all about how people can donate hair, Jimmy was keen to help out.

Linda told the Herald how Jimmy became inspired to grow his hair out, and how proud his family are of him.

“We were away on holiday and there was a little girl there with no hair at all,” Linda said.

“She kept sitting down and Jimmy would come over and he would ask me, ‘Granny, why has that girl got no hair?’ and I said it’s probably because she's been poorly and she’s probably had cancer and had treatment.

“He asked me, ‘Will it grow back?’ and I said, ‘Well some-times it does and sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it takes a very long time.’ I explained how some people who have long hair donate it to and have wigs made out of their hair.”

It was after this conversation with Linda that Jimmy made the all-important decision.

Linda said: “That’s when he said to me, ‘I want to make a wig for that girl,’ and I said, ‘Well, it won’t be for that girl, but you can grow your hair if you want to.’ From that day, he refused to have it cut. He was going to grow his hair for the children that got cancer.”

Sorting and tidying the long hair for school was sometimes an issue for Linda, and there’s one aspect of the morning routine she’s pleased is no longer needed.

“I don’t miss getting the detangler out and brushing up his hair and putting it in a pony tail or a bun ready for school. It’s nice to have his short back and sides back. Apart from that it’s been nice to see him have it and he’s enjoyed having long hair.”

There is a lot of pride from Jimmy’s family after his decision to grow his hair out for a good cause.

Linda said: “We are very proud of him. He set his heart on this from the moment he learned about children losing their hair. We are so proud of what he has achieved. I work in Tesco’s and they’re all very proud of him at Tesco, they know him there because he comes in with me when I do my shopping.”

Jimmy spoke to the Herald about what it was like to grow his hair out to help others.

“I wanted to help people who have cancer and don't have any hair by giving it to people to make a wig,” the Year Three pupil said. “I feel like I have helped by growing my hair for so long.”

The long hair took some getting used to for Jimmy, as he added: “It was really annoying because it always got in my eyes. I’m glad it’s cut now because when I have long hair it just always goes in my eyes when we go to the seaside.

When asked if he would grow his hair out again, Jimmy said that he probably would.