Little girl donates ‘princess hair’ to help sick kids

Emily James was born with golden-brown hair that just wouldn’t stop growing, like her favorite princess, Rapunzel. But it’s her compassion and kindness toward others that makes her a true princess.

The 3-year-old from Ontario, Canada, recently decided to cut her hair and donate the long locks to children who have lost their hair to cancer.

In a video posted last month on YouTube, Emily explains why she wanted to give away her hair, which she loves as much as she loves frilly dresses and other princessy things.

“Sometimes kids get sick and then their hair falls out. That’s really, really sad,” she said. “I don’t want any kids to be sad that they have no hair. What I want to do is give them my hair, because I have more hair. Just cut some of it off and give it to someone.”

Emily’s parents, Amy and Richard James, were the ones who first suggested she donate her hair. They explained that her hair would take a long time to grow back and looked at pictures of kids with no hair and kids with short hair.

She still wanted to make a donation, so her uncle, Matthew Collins, stepped up to give her a style more reminiscent of Rapunzel’s “Tangled” bob than of the princess’ traditional flowing locks. But first, he had to cut her doll’s hair to match.

“I think Uncle Matthew is the best hair-cutter in the world. He did it just like my dolly,” Emily said. “Wow, me and my dolly look so pretty.“

Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @stephgrimes