Thousands raised for Hospice of St Francis as Hemel cancer survivor and 4-year-old godson chop their long locks

A cancer survivor from Hemel Hempstead has raised over £2,000 for the Hospice of St Francis bycutting off 40cm of her hair.

Emma Rees 41, and her four-year-old godson Hughie Roberts visited Hayley Gibbon at Hair by Hayley on Tuesday, May 25, to cut off their long locks to raise money for the hospice, and donate their hair to The Little Princess Trust. Hughie had around 35cm of hair cut off.

The Little Princess Trust provides free real hair wigs to children and young people, up to 24 years, who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions.

Emma was diagnosed with aggressive Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) in December 2015, after finding a lump just before her 36th birthday.

This month marks five years since finishing chemotherapy and the 41-year-old wanted to give something back to the hospice who helped her during her treatment.

Hughie, who is the son of her best friend Emma Roberts, wanted to mark the occasion with her so decided to cut his hair off to.

Emma said: "We both had the big chop yesterday and will be sending off our locks to the Little Princess Trust.

"Our hair was cut by Hayley Gibbon at Hair by Hayley and she did a fantastic job. Hayley has a fantastic salon which we donned with balloons and banners for our photos.

"We are both so pleased with our new looks and we are so happy that we managed to donate a huge amount of hair between us.

"Hughie was brave and went first! He was so good and said he enjoyed being pampered. Hayley commented on how well behaved he was!

"The first cut was definitely the toughest for Hughie’s mum, Emma, but Hughie just took it all in his stride and was so pleased to be able to donate his hair to “people that need wigs”.

"I went second, and I have to admit I was super nervous about going short, especially when my hair was sectioned off in preparation for the chop!

"But once the first section was cut off, there was no turning back! We are so overwhelmed with the support we have received for our fundraiser.

"We have raised an amazing £2,202 on the fundraising page and I will be completing my application for match funding of £500 from my company, Wates, this week.

"They run a programme called Wates Giving which is run by the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, which offers match funding to Wates staff of up to £500.

"We never imagined we would raise such a fantastic amount for the amazing Hospice of St Francis and we are so grateful to everyone that sponsored us.

"The hospice is close to many people’s hearts locally and I’m hopeful that we have raised awareness about the other services that they offer, not just their fantastic end of life care."

The Hospice Of St Francis in Berkhamsted helps families in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, to live their precious lives well through improving symptoms, achieving personal goals and helping them to feel safe.

Emma, Hughie's mum, added: "The haircut went really well, the total amount raised so far is now £2,702, including the fund matching from Emma's work."