THREE young cousins are preparing to donate their long locks to charity while they fundraise to buy toys for children in hospital.
Inaaya, eight, Faseeha, nine, and Fiza, 10, chose the kind-hearted gesture because they want to help other young people. They also chose to raise money for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity – the NHS charity partner of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – because Inaaya is a regular patient in the Children’s Day Case Unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
The cousins chose to donate their hair to The Little Princess Trust, which provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions.
The cut will take place on Wednesday, July 7 – the week of the NHS’s 73rd birthday.
Help others
Safina Aziz, Inaaya’s mum, said she was proud of her daughter and nieces for wanting to help others, and particularly for choosing a charity which meant something to her family.
Inaaya, who attends Saltaire Primary School, has a rare genetic condition, which means she suffers from chronic inflammatory bowel disease and in the past she has needed a blood transfusion every four weeks. She’s currently attending for regular iron transfusions at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
Safina said: “Inaaya still attends hospital every six to eight weeks for an iron infusion, so she is a regular on ward 12. The play leader is very good and gives the children activities to do, but they need more toys and play equipment to keep them occupied. Toys make such a big difference and they help take Inaaya’s mind off the infusion.”
Safina admitted that the girls are nervous about having all their hair cut, but looking forward to the event, which will take place at Blues Hair Workshop, Rawson Square, Bradford. The salon is kindly cutting the girls’ hair for free.
Grateful
Hayley Collis, Head of Fundraising for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity, said: “Thank you so much to Inaaya, Faseeha and Fiza for this incredibly kind gesture. We’re very grateful that you all thought about the other boys and girls who come into hospital and that you want to raise money to buy more toys.
“It’s so important that our young patients have toys to distract them from their treatment. It makes for much happier children, more relaxed parents and carers and it means tests and treatment can go ahead much quicker and more efficiently.”
So far, the girls have raised just over £700, so if you want to help them reach £1,000 then donate at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/inaaya-aziz2haircutting
For more information about Bradford Hospitals’ Charity and how you can get involved, visit https://bradfordhospitalscharity.org, email charity@bthft.nhs.uk or call 01274 274809.
ENDS