Feature

Rebecca Harte shed her long brown locks at a fundraising event in Goodyear Sports and Social Club on Saturday night to raise money for Cancer Focus NI.

Her mother Anna, who had worked in the Golden Crust bakery, died at the age of 40 in February 2010 following a long battle with cancer. The family started raising money for various cancer charities as she was receiving treatment and continued to fundraise after her death.

18-year-old Rebecca, who returns to Lismore in September to complete her A-Levels, said she’d always wanted to get her head shaved to raise money, but her dad had made her wait.

Her father Dooley said: “She’d been talking about it since before she was 18 and I’d said ‘no’, but now she’s an adult I couldn’t stop her.

Rebecca commented: “I don’t miss it, but it’s been a lot colder without it. It’s a lot easier to get ready in the morning. It takes very little work when your hair’s this length.”

Rebecca plans to donated her ponytail to the Rapunzel Foundation who make wigs from real hair for cancer patients.

Rebecca’s brothers and sisters also got in on the act at the charity fundraiser at the Goodyear Club.

Gary (16), Beth (12), Amy (8) and Ciaran (7) all had their hair dyed.

Dooley said: “The colour has gone out of the other four’s hair, but it’s going to take a while before Rebecca’s grows back.”

Dooley, who didn’t have any hair to sacrifice up top, didn’t want to be left out so he pledged to have his back waxed to raise money for the cancer charity.

“My niece who is a beautician was doing the back waxing, but then a few of my friends and family got involved.

“They were told to pull the strips from left to right so they were going with the grain of the hair, but once they heard that they did it right to left.”

He added: “The family support group at Cancer Focus has been invaluable to us. We were able to raise £1,700 for them on the night and £3,500 in total.”