Pearl Jenkins’ generous donation will help sick kids across the country feel beautiful and confident. Photo: Supplied.
A Weipa girl says she is loving her new hairdo for a good cause after chopping off her locks to provide sick kids with luscious wigs.
On her 11th birthday in late October, Pearl Jenkins took on the Variety Hair with Heart big chop surrounded by family and friends, donating 35 centimetres of hair and raising more than $1,500 for children in need.
After losing a close family friend to cancer and watching her brother participate in the World’s Greatest Shave, she was inspired to get involved and started a two year hair growth journey.
Now rocking a French-chic bob around town, Pearl said she was nervous at first, but fell in love with her new look.
“It was a little bit scary, because I couldn’t see myself in the mirror or anything, but when I finally looked, I was like ‘oh, I actually do like it’,” she said.
“After that, everyone said that they liked it, and I felt a little bit more confident about how I did.
“Now, I want to keep doing it – I feel like I’m going to measure it every two years, and once my hair is 35 centimetres or longer, I’m going to cut it off again.”
In September, Pearl told Cape York Weekly she had already more than doubled her original fundraising goal of $250 at $581.
Just over a month later, with the support of the Weipa community, she was able to donate a total of $1,553 to Variety, which helps kids experiencing disadvantage or living with a disability through grants, scholarships and programs.
“I feel like I’ve done something pretty good, and that what I’m doing is helping someone,” she said.
“There’s a lot of people who have helped me to do this, so I just want to say thank you to all of those people, and they know who they are.”
Pearl grew her hair out for two years before the chop, and plans to grow it for another two years to donate again. Photo: Supplied.
