Let's hair it for amazing Grace

For 10-year-old Grace Hogan, losing her hair for child cancer is something she hasn't thought twice about.

The Year 6 Puketapu School student has been raising money for the Child Cancer Foundation over the past month to help children with cancer and their families, who have to cope with such a horrible time in their lives. Yesterday, it all culminated in her hair being shaved off in front of the school at an assembly.

Her Year 8 sister, Ella, was emotional as she cut off the pony tail, while Di Foote from Di's Hair and Wig Specialists in Onekawa shaved Grace's hair.

She said it had always been something she had wanted to do and is hoping her hair will be able to be made into a wig for a child.

"There's no specific reason, but there was a little girl at my swim club who had cancer and ended up dying."

A wide range of fundraising methods have been used throughout her campaign, including using a Facebook page to draw people to give money, collecting on the street and at Mitre 10 Mega.

A "Jean Day" at her dad's work, where everyone came to work wearing casual clothes was also used and ended up raising close to $800.

Although final figures had not been calculated, they had $2200 before fundraising began at school yesterday and were hoping to have $2500 by the end.

Grace's mum, Belinda, said she was very proud of her daughter who had been wanting to do it for some time.

"It is such a big thing for a young girl to do. We are fully behind her decision to shave her hair off.

"She is a determined girl with a heart of gold, we were so excited to see her follow through on her goal," she said.

"We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported and contributed to Child Cancer. It really has been overwhelming."

Puketapu School was keen to get involved, having a sausage sizzle, games, coin trail and collections yesterday."

School principal Chris Fox said they were "very proud of Grace and her initiative and for following through with her commitment".

"Grace came to see me earlier in the year and she had her mind set on raising money for child cancer and asked if the school could help.

"Children see that all contributions can make a difference for people worse off than ourselves and to take initiative and stand up and impact the community in a positive way," Mr Fox said.

It had been a successful day.

"Already Grace's example has enthused other children," he said.

Every week more than three children in New Zealand are diagnosed with cancer.

At any given time the Child Cancer Foundation is assisting more than 500 families' nationwide - offering support in hospital, at home and in the community.

The Child Cancer Foundation aims to reduce the impact of cancer by offering tailored, practical services that ensure children and their families are supported, informed and remain connected at every stage of their cancer journey.

As a stand-alone charity, the Child Cancer Foundation receives no direct funding from the Government, so it relies on the generosity of New Zealanders to support its cause.

You can support Grace and donate at: https://hawkesbayfunrazor.everydayhero.com/nz/grace-hogan or by going to the Child Cancer Foundation Hawke's Bay Facebook page and following the link to Grace's fundraising page.