By Chelsea Boyle
Lily Allan and Phoebe Wylie may be short on hair but they’re not short on donations for the Wairarapa Cancer Society.
The 10-year-olds, both at Opaki School, had their heads shaved on Sunday to raise awareness for bowel cancer sufferers.
For Lily, the gesture was in memory of her mother who passed away from bowel cancer about three years ago, while Phoebe’s aunt was recently diagnosed with bowel cancer.
The girls have made over $3000 in donations – including $950 on Sunday – and are set to make even more for the cause.
Yesterday, Strada café in Masterton channelled their ‘make a difference Monday’ towards supporting the girls, with 50c from every beverage sold going to the cause.
“It was very generous of them to offer,” said Phoebe’s mother Kate Wylie.
She was pleased with how well the event went on Sunday.
“There were people there we didn’t even know; people had read about it and came out to support which was really sweet.”
She said it was an emotional day and she was proud of what the girls had achieved.
Phoebe said the best bit was when her ponytail got chopped off.
“Everybody said I looked pretty good with no ponytail.”
Both girls wanted to donate their ponytails to Freedom Wigs in Dunedin.
Lily’s father Mark Allan was also fill of praise for how the community had supported the girls.
“You couldn’t have asked for anything more and the girls were amazing,” he said.
“She [Lily] never stopped smiling so that was pretty cool.
“There was great community support. Thank you to everyone who turned up and donated.”
Lily said the event was fun, especially alongside her pal Phoebe who “kept laughing”.
She had noticed a few changes that came along with the new style – “It feels weird when the wind comes”.
Lily wasn’t too worried about what her classmates might think of her new look.
“If anybody thinks it doesn’t look good, I don’t really care.”
Phoebe and Lily are leaving their Givealittle page open for one more week.
You can support them at givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/lilyandphoebeforcancer
im phoebe one of the girls that shaved their heads my hair is super long now and i can even french plait it i am so surprised on how fast it grew thank you all for supporting lily and i we really apreciated it, thank you so much.
A great occasion to support 2 brave and generous hearted girls. I am so proud of my granddaughter Phoebe and her friend Lily. Well done girls . Big love xx
What awesome and generous girls you both are and you both look absolutely gorgeous, what great smiles. Your mum would have been very proud of you Lily.
Lily you have honoured your Mother well. Congratulations to you both – a sensational thing to do.