Sisters to get ‘the chop’ for charity

Ciara Galvin

THREE sisters will be cutting off their locks for two very worthy causes next month.
Ava Gill (12) along with her sisters Leah (11) and Chloe (7) from Liscarney, Westport are donating their beautiful ponytails to ‘The Little Princess Trust’.
The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland that have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment.
Last year Leah donated one ponytail to the trust, and her two sisters wanted to follow in her footsteps. They have been growing their ponytails for the last few months to ensure that they can donate as much hair as possible for this wonderful cause.
Another charity that will benefit greatly from the efforts of these three young girls will be the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) in Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar.
SCBU is of a particularly special importance to the three sisters and their family.
On October 14, 2000, the girls’ eldest brother Christopher was born at 27 weeks old. For three days he was cared for with the greatest effort, attention and love by the dedicated staff in SCBU. But, unfortunately he lost his young life on October 17, 2000. SCBU continued their great work in supporting his heartbroken parents through this horrendous time.
In 2003 and again in 2010, SCBU proved themselves again vital to the Gill family when Ava and her youngest sister Rebecca (4) had to spend some time in the unit after birth. Thankfully, they both came through their respective health issues and are happy, healthy girls today.
Speaking to The Mayo News, mother of the three siblings, Marie Gill said the Gill family hoped to raise as much funds as possible.
“We hope how ever much we raise goes in some way to help running the unit.”
Sponsorship cards are circulating in the Westport area and donations can be made online at www.infundraise.ie by searching ‘Our Ponytails for Charity’.
The girls will be getting their hair cut at ‘Talking Heads’ at the Castlecourt Hotel on November 21.