Being generous is a good thing, particularly during the Christmas season.
It is most admirable if the act of charity is spontaneous and without solicitation.
But isn’t it adorable if that act of compassion comes from the heart of a little girl, only five years of age, without any guidance or encouragement?
Meet Dalyce Connell, the purest embodiment of the Christmas spirit.
“About to here” she says showing her waist when asked how long her hair was when she decided to cut it to donate to help children with cancer.
“For Angels for Kids. Because some kids, they have no hair, to help them” is how she explains her reason for cutting 11 inches of her hair.
“It was completely her idea” mother Crystal Connell said of the donation of Dalyce’s hair to be made into wigs for children who have been fighting cancer through chemotherapy.
“There was a donation by a family in town through a taek-won-do program and that’s where she got the idea.”
When Dalyce had her hair long enough, Crystal Connell started a search to find out how they could donate the hair to an organization that would make sure that it would be used to make wigs for children.
“I searched and found a child’s wig foundation, called ‘Angel’s Hair for Kids’. It is located in Mississauga, Ontario. They needed ten inches of hair and we ended up cutting 11,” says mother Connell.
The foundation is said to be the only one in Canada and it serves the needs of kids all over the country.
The foundation says it needs ten to 12 ponytails of hair and $800 to produce one wig.
Although donors of hair are not asked to donate money, Dalyce did not stop at giving her hair, she also raised $400 for the organization.
If time allowed, probably Dalyce could have raised more funds for the foundation, but the requirement is that the hair has to be sent to the “Angel’s Hair for Kids” no later than 30 days once the hair has been cut.
Dalyce’s elder brother Dexter is also quite familiar with the idea of sacrificing hair for fighting cancer.
Dexter shaved his head last year as part of the campaign for fighting cancer at his taek-won-do course.
Dalyce says she wants to be a “cowgirl” when she grows up.
“I like horses the most” she says.
“I have a pink and a white horse in my room, but they are just toys.”
Dalyce probably does not realize what a great act of charity she has undertaken.
One only hopes that her exemplary spirit of giving inspires many others older than her to give as selflessly as Dalyce to good causes.