Six-year-old to donate hair for charity in memory of aunt

A six-year-old boy, whose aunt passed away from cancer, is scheduled to have his long hair cut on Christmas Day. The hair will be used to create a wig for children suffering from the same illness. Reuben, a resident of Southwold, Suffolk, has been growing his hair since 2021. He made the decision this year that he was prepared for a haircut. Following the loss of his aunt Trudie earlier this year, he chose to donate his hair to the Little Princess Trust, an organization that produces real-hair wigs for children with cancer. Arron Digby, Reuben’s father, expressed that he was “so proud” of his son for conceiving the initiative. Mr. Digby elaborated, “Earlier this year we lost my sister to cancer. Due to that, he decided that he’d like to donate his hair to the Little Princess Trust. They make wigs for children with cancer and it was something he just felt close to and thought it would be a great idea to show what he can do. [Trudie] would be very proud.” The haircut will take place on Wednesday at Southwold beach, involving Reuben, his father, and his mother, Leah Digby. This event precedes the annual Christmas Day swim, scheduled for 10:30 GMT. Santa Claus has also been invited to participate in cutting Reuben’s hair, which the young boy described as being “down to my bottom.” Reuben further stated his affection for his aunt and mentioned that he had requested a new television from Santa this year. The Little Princess Trust reports that the average cost to produce a wig is £700. Reuben adopted this amount as his fundraising goal and has successfully collected £775, with further contributions anticipated from the local Rotary club. Mr. Digby continued, stating, “It’s just amazing for him to have the idea of doing it and it’s unbelievable. It’s great he’s got the opportunity to show other people what can be done and by opening the Christmas Day swim at Southwold as well, it’s just great. For Reuben, he’s only six, and to think of something like this by himself, looking into it with his mum, I’m so proud of him. He’s even looking now for the next thing he can do. He wants to look at another way of raising money for charity.”