Young Donegal girl Chloe McCauley loves her long blonde hair. She calls it her Rapunzel hair, but this December, she will be donating her princess locks to a very important cause.
Chloe is just six years old, but is eager to help as many people as she can with a big show of kindness. She is going to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust and raise money for a special baby at the same time.
Chloe McCauley
Baby Aoibhinn McGowan
Chloe’s haircut fundraiser on December 20th is going to be in aid of baby Aoibhinn McGowan and her family. Aoibhinn is not yet two years old and has already faced some major battles.
Aoibhinn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in July. She has been getting treatment in John’s Ward, Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
Donegal Woman spoke with Chloe’s mother, Charlotte McCauley, who was personally affected by Aoibhinn’s story and was inspired to help her family
“Myself and my husband would do a lot of charity work ourselves. We had a stillborn daughter some years ago and now raise awareness for bereavement charities.
“When I heard about Aoibhinn’s story I knew was it was like for the family. I felt sorry for them because I know what her family is going through.”
Aobhinn’s mother Maeve is originally from Gortahork and her father Dean is from Arranmore. They have three young girls – twins Aoibhinn and Alice and their younger sister Ava.
Charlotte and Chloe McCauley
Little Chloe was talking about her next haircut when Charlotte had the idea to tell her about the Little Princess Trust. The charity accepts donations of hair to be made into wigs for sick children.
Charlotte then thought of combining Chloe’s hair donation with a fundraising event for Aoibhinn.
“Aoibhinn has just started a new dose of chemotherapy. We are worried now that she is going to be very sick over Christmas. We just want to help the family as Aoibhinn will be going down a tough road over Christmas,” Charlotte said.
Chloe’s blond hair reaches far down her back, and even though she loves her locks, Charlotte said that she is happy to donate it. “She herself calls it her ‘Rapunzel hair'”
Peter Mark in Letterkenny have sponsored the haircut, and Charlotte plans to do a livestream of the event. Chloe’s long locks will be chopped up into a bob, or as long as she can leave it that is appropriate for school.
“Chloe understands that she is helping somebody, and she’s very proud that her hair is going to help a wee girl that is sick,” Charlotte said.
Chloe McCauley’s long blond hair
“Everyone is sending messages to say how proud they are for her being so young to do it.”
“She’s an emotional little girl. She was only very young when we lost our baby,” Charlotte said, looking back on when she and her husband William’s baby was stillborn in 2013.
Charlotte has set up a Go Fund Me campaign page ahead of Chloe’s haircut on December 3rd in Peter Mark Hairdressing. She said that Chloe is asking for donations of as little as €1 or €2, with all proceeds going to Aoibhinn’s fund.
Visit the GoFundMe page for more information.
