Kids cut hair to raise money for Sunnybrook

On May 28, Nicholas Morales, a grade five student at Our Lady of Peace Elementary School in Maple, Ontario, chopped off the long, curly locks he was known for.

"We've all known Nicholas for years - he's been known as the kid with long curly black hair - he'd been growing it for years since his mom passed away," says Kristen Belvedere, Nicholas's teacher.

The haircut was the main attraction of "The Buzz," a school rally to raise awareness and funds for cancer. The kids and teachers who planned the event surpassed their $5,000 fundraising goal, raising a total of nearly $15,000 for Sunnybrook on the day of the event and in the weeks leading up to it.

Nicholas donated his locks to Angel Hair Foundation - which provides wigs for financially disadvantaged kids with cancer and other illnesses - to honour his own mother, who passed away from lymphoma in 2006. His sister, Alexandra, in grade two, also cut her hair, along with other supporters at Our Lady of Peace.

"Nicholas had come to me a few months prior, saying he wanted to get donations to cut his hair, which he'd been growing for several years," says Kristen.

"I said, ‘why don't we make this a school-wide event?' I talked to his father and it just took off from there."

Kristen and Nicholas set up a fundraising page on the Sunnybrook Foundation website, says Kristen and "we had started raising money before we even announced the event."

A series of events - including a raffle with donated prices, a popcorn sale and a movie day - led up to the group haircut finale.

"Everybody knew his story and his family's story. The community was excited to take part in something so inspiring. They're still talking about it and I think it'll be something that the school and community remember."