News

Plucky six-year-old Coventry schoolgirl Molly Hughes, bravely chopped off her waist length hair on Saturday to help raise money for international development charity WaterAid.

Kind hearted Molly, from Finham, decided to cut her Rapunzel-like locks to help raise money for people living without access to safe water after seeing a WaterAid advert on TV.  

Molly will be donating her hair to the Little Princesses Trust who provides real hair wigs for children suffering from hair loss due to cancer treatment and other illnesses, and donating the sponsorship money she raises to WaterAid.

Molly’s mum Amie Hughes, who works for Severn Trent, set up a JustGiving page for Molly which currently stands at an impressive £588.00, smashing Molly’s original target of £200. Severn Trent will also be making a donation to WaterAid after hearing about Molly’s big chop for charity.

Amie said, “Molly has always had really long hair, but around a year ago she started to ask if she could cut it into a bob to look like her Nanny’s.  After seeing a WaterAid TV advert Molly asked me why the children were drinking water from a puddle and she was really sad when I explained that not everyone has safe water.  We talked about how she could raise money for WaterAid through friends sponsoring her haircut, and she was even happier to know that she could donate her hair to help poorly children. I’m so proud of Molly helping others, she told her school friends about her hair cut during a show and tell at school, but she’s being very laid back about the whole thing!”

Marcus Missen, WaterAid Director of Communications and Fundraising said “We want to say a massive thank you to Molly for helping raise money for WaterAid by chopping her lovely locks.  Without access to taps and toilets millions of children around the world are held back from reaching their potential because they have to miss school to help fetch water for their families, and the unsafe water they are forced to drink often makes them very sick.  Just £15 can help provide someone with access to safe water, so the money raised through Molly’s challenge will really make a difference to help transform lives – go Molly!”

Dr Tony Ballance from Severn Trent adds: “When we were first made aware of what Molly was doing for charity, we knew we wanted to help. So, we’re going to make a donation to go towards the amount of money this little superstar raises! WaterAid saves thousands of lives every year by helping to provide clean drinking water in poverty stricken countries, like many in Africa, and is a charity that’s very close to Severn Trent’s heart. What Molly is doing will really save lives and make a huge difference to those who need it. Thank you Molly!”

To support Molly and donate to WaterAid please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Amie-Hughes.