Little girl proves big-hearted as she gives hair to help others

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  "Mommy, can you teach me to fly? I think I'm ready ... "

That's a big statement from a little girl - 4-year-old Noel Ingram - who obviously already has big dreams and aspirations after watching the "Tinkerbell" movie recently.

She also proved she has a big heart to match, when she recently had her gorgeous long hair cut short - just so she could give it to other children less fortunate than herself.

Noel, who attends RAF Mildenhall's Child Development Center, is the daughter of Staff Sgt. Alana Ingram, Defense Media Activity, U.K., NCOIC of broadcast operations, at RAF Feltwell.

She donated the precious hair to "Locks of Love", (a non-profit organization providing hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada who suffer from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis) after having her hair cut Sept. 29.

"My sister donated to 'Locks of Love' twice," Sergeant Ingram said. "All I knew was that it was an organization where you could donate hair, so I went to their Web site, which gave me all the information I needed."

With a haircut appointment already made, the single mom picked up her daughter from school and headed to the hairdressers.

"I told her that she had a choice she could make. I said we could either cut just a few inches off, so it would reach her shoulders, which would stop the pain (Noel gets a lot of pain when her hair is brushed, because it's so thick and wavy), or we could get it cut really short and give it to a little girl or a little boy who doesn't have any hair."

After thinking about it for just a second, Noel told her mom that it would have to be a girl who got the hair.

"But I said to her, if we do that, you'll have to have your hair cut really, really short," said Sergeant Ingram.

"She looked at me and said, 'But they don't have any hair, Mom.' I said, 'You're right - they don't .'"

Noel didn't hesitate before answering her mom.

"Well, we have to give it to a girl without hair!"

The proud mom said her daughter made the decision all by herself.

"She was definitely nervous when she first got in the chair - you could tell by the look on her face," said Sergeant Ingram. "But the hairdresser was great with her - he really put Noel at ease, entertaining her and making monkey faces," she laughed, remembering the moment.

The hairdresser began by dividing and tying Noel's hair into sections, before he started cutting, and between them, he and her mom made sure she understood that once he started, there was no going back.

"I said 'no', then I said 'yes', then I said, 'OK - let's go!" exclaimed Noel, obviously happy with her new look.

"I love getting haircuts, because they're fun," she said. "People always get their hair cut, and I always get my hair cut. I feel happy because now another little girl can have hair."

To explain how proud the pre-schooler thought her mom was of her for donating her hair, she stretched her little arms as wide apart as she could, and said, "This much."

On the other hand, to demonstrate how proud she actually was of her daughter for doing this, Sergeant Ingram stretched out her adult-sized arms far further, and said, "No - this much!"

"I'm genuinely baffled that she made the decision on her own," Sergeant Ingram said. "She seemed to understand the repercussions of it. I explained to her that it would take a long time for her hair to grow back, and that it would be short for a really long time."

"She just accepted that, and said 'Well, the little girl has no hair' - as if to say, 'well, obviously I had to do it.'"