Napier Girls' High School deputy heads cut their hair for cancer and Sands charity

NGHS deputy heads Amelia Otto and Eva Ronberg are having their hair cut off for charity.

It's not quite off with their heads, but for Napier Girls' High School deputy heads Eva Ronberg and Amelia Otto, the scissors are coming out.

Eva and Amelia will be having their ponytails lopped off to raise money for the Child Cancer Foundation (CCF) and Sands HB, with a Givealittle page reaching the $800 target within hours of being set up several weeks ago. They upped their target to $2000 and achieved that by the end of the day.

"We now have an open-ended target. We just hope to raise as much as possible to help as many people as possible," Amelia says.

Eva decided to cut her hair five years ago — "It has just taken it such a long time to grow" — whereas Amelia had quite a different reason for cutting hers.

"I'd been thinking about cutting my hair shorter because I'm applying to join the Navy. When Eva mentioned that she was going to cut her hair to donate it to make a wig for Freedom Wigs I thought, what a great idea, I could support her and donate mine too, then someone else could benefit from my haircutting."

Eva chose to raise money for CCF for personal reasons.

"My younger sister had cancer and passed away 10 years ago. When she got to wear a wig that was donated from another very kind person she was so so happy. We just want to put some happiness in children's journey with cancer."

She says the thought of having her hair cut is a little scary.

"I don't know what it will look like. However, I know that it's nowhere near as scary as the children who have to go through cancer. So I feel grateful to be able to give my hair to help someone else who is struggling."

The requirement to make a wig is 35.5cm minimum length, so Eva is expecting her hair to end up quite short. Amelia is feeling excited and looking forward to it.

"I know it's for a good cause, or in our case, two good causes. My hair will be as short as it was when I was three years old so it will take some getting used to, as I can't remember having short hair."

The pair also decided to add Sands HB to their fundraising in memory of Amelia's sister, Franziska, who was stillborn 19 years ago. Sands supports parents and families who have experienced the death of a baby at any stage during pregnancy, as a baby or infant.

"She's still a part of our lives today and by doing this fundraiser I feel like I am honouring her memory and helping others in the process."

Amelia and Eva believe people are happy to donate to these causes as cancer resonates with everybody.

"It's so unfair and sad for someone's child and their family to have to go through. Cancer touches so many people that everybody knows somebody whose life has been affected by it.

"For that reason, I think lots of people can relate and therefore they donate so easily to the cause. On the other hand, most people maybe aren't aware of the organisation Sands, unless you are the parents or family affected directly by the loss."

Eva's sisters Grace and Meg, along with cousin Laura, plus a Napier Girls' High teacher's aide, will be making the chop of their waist-long hair on Monday, December 5 during the lunch hour at school.

■ To donate to Eva and Amelia's fundraiser visit https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/cutting-our-hair-for-cancer