Many of you may have heard us talking about this wonderful charity round and about the House when you have visited us in the past, especially those of you who have decided to chop of a good amount of hair for a revamp whilst seeing your Quirker.
So we wanted to take this opportunity to talk to you a about who The Little Princess Trust are, How it all started, Their why, and potentially get them some lovely long locks donated!
Who Are They?
The Little Princess Trust was established in 2006 by the parents of Hannah Tarplee, their friends and Hereford Cathedral Junior School. They have been didicated to helping children and young people ever since.
They are one of the UK’s largest charity funders of children’s cancer research and, since 2016, have committed more than £7million to projects focused on finding kinder and more effective treatments for childhood cancers.
This is a small organisation and relies soley on donations, both financially and through hair donations.
As well as providing free, real hair wigs for young people under the age of 24yrs, The Little Princess Trust also funds pioneering institutions and experts leading the way in researching paediatric cancers.
Why Does This Charity Exist?
The Little Princess Trust was set up in 2006 in memory of Hannah Tarplee.
When she was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumour in 2004, the loss of her hair was especially traumatic for her.
Her parents, Wendy and Simon, struggled to find a wig suitable for her during treatment, and felt the most fitting tribute to the five-year-old would be a charity dedicated to providing wigs to children who had lost their own hair.
Tragically, Hannah passed away in 2005.
With so many kind offers of financial and practical help, her parents Wendy and Simon both felt that the most fitting tribute would be to launch a charity dedicated to providing real hair wigs for children and young people.
The Little Princess Trust are working towards the day when there will no longer be a need for an organisation like theirs. They hope by funding research, to one day make this a reality.
What They Have Achieved So Far
The Little Princess Trust has provided more than 10,000 wigs, free of charge, to young people aged up to 24yrs across the whole of the UK & Ireland, who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or other conditions such as Alopecia.
They are now in the early stages of offering our service in other areas of Europe and beyond!
Thanks to the huge efforts of their fantastic fundraisers and corporate supporters, in 2016 they were able to start funding pioneering academics and institutions leading the way in researching new and better treatments for all paediatric cancers. An area where there is so much work which desperately needs investment.
They have so far awarded circa £5 million pounds into life-saving research projects which is just so amazing. Their mission is to invest in the right areas to fill some of these funding gaps.
These research projects are into many types of cancer (including neuroblastoma, leukaemia, teenage and young adult brain tumours, Wilms' and rhabdomyosarcoma) and a variety of less toxic treatments (including Immunotherapy, Proton Beam Therapy and Drug Repurposing.
How Your Support Can Can Make A Huge Difference To The Little Princess Trust
The Little Princess Trust cost break down:
~£150 pays for a professional wig fitting.
~£550 provides a young person with a wig.
~£1, 000 can buy new drugs for testing.
~£10, 000 measures long terms effects of drugs on children.
~£30,000 identifies drugs which minimise side-effects on children.
For every £1 that gets donated to these guys, 90p of it goes straight in to the charity, with only 10p going on overheads.
There are many elements that add to the cost of the wigs, including:
~Manufacture
~Storage
~Salon fees
It’s super important to these guys that they can continue to provide this to families for free.
By offering practical help and funding research, they are able to help children now and into the future.
They are able to continue doing this, thanks to the fantastic support of donors and fundraisers.
They always keep a very close eye on every penny raised and also spent. If you have any queries relating to this, please get in touch with them as they are super friendly and easy to speak to.
Who Is Suitable To Use This Service?
Real hair wigs are available free of charge, to children and young people up to the age of 24yrs old, who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions, for the duration of thier treatment.
They can also provide wigs to children and young people throughout the UK and Ireland who have other conditions that result in hair loss, such as alopecia.
Despite the name of the charity, this service is available across all genders.
*The Little Princess Trust is named after Hannah's legacy, which is why it is named, The Little Princess.
The wigs which The Little Princess Trust provide, are of exceptional quality. You would expect them to last for up to 12 months.
How To Apply For A Wig
The Little Princess Trust have made the process of receiving a wig as straight forward as possible for you.
A wig can be requested either by yourself, by your parents or by the hospital.
Just click on the link below and fill out the super simple, stress free contact form to apply:
To take any pressure off, they have also given the 4 simple steps of what will happen from the minute you fill out your form, to the day you have your fitting to guide you through with ease.
How Does It Work?
The Little Princess Trust use hair donations and fundraising monies sent to them, to manufacture and fit beautiful real hair wigs.
From receiving hair donations at their office, through to fitting and styling a bespoke wig, it costs the charity from £550 to provide a real hair wig, free of charge, to wig recipients.
Currently, they supply over 100 wigs every month!
The Little Princess Trust needs financial donations as well as hair donations, in order to fund the actual manufacturing of the wigs and wig-fitting service.
Every penny that you can raise, really does count.
By fundraising, donating your hair and spreading the word to raise the profile of this wonderful charity, you keep it's cogs turning and Hannahs legacy going.
Here is a video of what happens to your hair, once it has been accepted and given the go ahead to be made in to a wig:
Is My Hair Type Suitable To Donate?
Dreadlocks:
Dreadlocks cannot be used in these wigs. Part of the preparation to blend hair donations together involves combining individual strands of hair. All hair must be able to be combed to separate these individual hairs.
Highlighted/Pre-lightened Hair:
As long as your hair is in great condition, we can accept highlighted and bleached hair.
Grey Hair:
As these wigs are destined for children and young people, they cannot accept large amounts of grey hair or grey hair that has been dyed a semi-permanent natural colour (as the dye will eventually wash out to reveal the grey).
Donations containing elements of grey hair can be used, as long as the overall quality of the hair is very good. If the majority of the hair is of a useable colour, and in good condition, the grey hair can be removed and the suitable coloured hair used.
Curly & Afro Hair:
The Little Princess Trust do accept Afro and curly hair. The hair must meet their measurement guidelines and also needs to be in its natural curly form when measured and cut. (Please do not straighten the hair before having it cut).
Prior to cutting, we would place your hair into a ponytail, secure at both ends with a hair band, with another band halfway down the ponytail, and then measure & snip snip, away!
Henna Dyed Hair:
Unfortunately they cannot accept hair that has been dyed using henna. Henna-dyed hair gradually fades over time which could affect the overall colour of a wig.
Layered Hair:
As long as the length of the layers are at least 7″/17cm long (the longer, the better) then yes!
Multi-coloured Hair:
If your hair colours are natural (black, blonde brown, ginger, etc), and in good condition, then yes - they can use your hair. The colours can be separated and the suitable coloured hair will be used.
Cancer & Chemotherapy:
The Little Princess Trust are incredibly humbled when they hear from those who are about to embark on their own cancer journey, who ask if they are able to donate their hair before they lose it due to their chemotherapy treatment.
They are so grateful for these very personal donations and are able to use the hair, even if your chemotherapy treatment has already recently started.
However, it is important that the hair is cut as per our standard guidelines before the hair starts to shed.
We would also urge you to always prioritise your own well-being, to choose the right time for you to cut your hair and not to feel rushed or pressured.
Hair Donation Guidelines:
Accepted Donations:
■All hair donated to us must be in excellent condition
■Their greatest need is for hair donations that are 16" (41cm) or longer.
■We enncourage all of our growers to keep growing until at least 12" (30cm)
■Clean, dry hair, from any gender and ethnicity (please do not send wet hair - it will not dry properly and is not usable)
■Great condition (no split ends) and of any natural colour
■Straight, wavy or curly. Curly hair must meet length requirements while measured in its natural curly form.
■Permanently dyed;* bleached/highlighted hair (*if dye is of a natural colour and overall condition of hair is good)
■Ponytail/s cut a maximum of five years ago, if preserved and in good condition.
■They accept hair from within and outside the UK.
Unable To Be Accepted:
■Hair that is less than 7”/17cm long
■Dyed an unnatural colour (sorry, this means all silvers, pastels and vivids).
■Hair that has been dyed using semi-permanent dye
■Henna-dyed hair
■Dreadlocks cannot be used in our wigs. Part of the preparation to blend hair donations together involves combining individual strands of hair. All hair must be able to be combed to separate these individual hairs.
■Hair extensions.
How Long Would My Hair Donation Have To be To Be Suitable For The Little Princess Trust?
The minimum length of hair that we can accept is 7inches/17cm. However, they do currently have sufficient stock of hair measuring between 7 and 11 inches, and that is why we encourage all supporters to donate hair that measures 12 inches and above.
Frequent donations of the shorter lengths could bring storage costs to the charity and they, understandably, would prefer to use their resources to provide wigs to children and fund vital research into childhood cancers.
Will my hair definitely be used by The Little Princess Trust to make a wig for a child/young person?
Ultimately, the decision as to whether or not your hair will be used is made by the wig makers, so it is not a 100% guarantee that it will definitely be made into a wig. However, if you follow the hair donation guidelines it is very likely that your hair will be used
What happens to my hair once it reaches The Little Princess Trust?
If your hair donation is in line with the current guidelines, it will be sent to the wig manufacturer to form part of one wig. It can take up to 14 hair donations to make a single wig.
How will I know my hair has arrived with them?
The Trust will email you a certificate as soon as possible to thank you for your kindness. Be sure you include an email address on the hair donation slip when you send your hair. (This can take between 4-8weeks currently).
How Can I Donate My Hair?
Now that we are rockin and rollin once more, we shall be more than happy to cut you loose from those locks!
Sharing your hair with children and young people experiencing the devastating effects of hair loss is an incredible thing to do.
Something to think about, is that these guys also need financial donations in order for them to cover the costs of providing and fitting these wigs. Every penny that you raise really does make a difference to the lives of the young wig recipients.
It's is super easy to set up a Just Giving page for this. Get signed up, let your people know what wacky idea you have, and get them sharing your news! It's such a user friendly website to use, and it is completely compatible for sharing to your social media.
Can't be bothered with the faff? It's actually not faffy! Trust us. After your fundraising has ended, Just Giving will transfer the money directly into The Little Princess Trist's account, so you don't have to worry.
Then they can crack on with providing beautiful wigs, free of charge, to the young people who need them, and funding vital research into childhood cancers.
Here is a link to Just Giving:
Now that we've gone through literally everything that you need to know, here are the rules of this last stage!
Cutting & donating your hair
■Wash and dry your hair (they cannot accept wet hair - it does not dry in the post and will not be suitable if you have dried it after cutting on a radiator or other heat source)
■Do not use conditioner or styling products
■Put your dry hair into a ponytail/secure at both ends with a hair band, and one halfway down (Your Quirker can do this part for you!).
■Ask your Quirker to cut above the top band.
■Put the cut ponytail/s into a recyclable cardboard or heavyweight paper envelope & include your completed Hair Donation Form, then send to:
The Little Princess Trust
The Hannah Tarplee Building
22-25 Berrington Street
Hereford
HR4 0BJ
UK
If you’re under 16, you must obtain permission from your parent/guardian before the haircut.
Hair Donation Form
Please print off & complete the form on the Little Princess website and send this in the envelope along with your hair donation:
We think we have covered everything..
Oh wait, no, what style are you thinking of changing to?!
If you are wanting to donate your hair to The Little Princess Trust, and would like for us to do the honours, please book in for a revamp (to allow for the extra time needed) and make us aware upon booking in!
If you are fundraising, be sure to give us the details of your just giving page, and we will help out with sharing your wonderful & exciting task, and help you along the way!
Peace Out, Stalkers!
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