Photo by Andrew Ashton.
An Otematata schoolgirl will today donate her hair to be
used as a wig for people suffering from leukaemia.
Waitaki Girls High School pupil Rebekah Cochrane (pictured)
will have her flowing locks lopped off at a special event at
the Otematata Hotel, in an effort to raise $1000 for
Leukaemia and Cancer New Zealand.
The 17-year-old said she had been raising money for more than
a month in memory of a family friend who died from cancer.
''It has impacted on my life a lot, but a lot of people have
gone through the same thing, so I wanted to put something
back for them.''
She was nervous ahead of tonight's head-shaving ceremony, and
said the next time she saw her hair
it might be on someone else's head.
''My hair will be sent to Dunedin to be made into a wig for
someone who needs it.''
People can support her fundraising efforts through the
www.shaveforacure.co.nz
website. So far she had raised $800 through sponsorship and
online donations, she said.
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