South Ga. 8-year-old donates 16 inches of his hair to charity

DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) - A brave and courageous 8-year-old intentionally grew his hair for the past several years just to shave it to have it donated to a charity group that helps people that experience medical hair loss.

It all started when Banner Friend’s mom, Shelby Friend, told him it was time for his first haircut and he told her he was not feeling that idea. That was until she explained that there are kids in dire need of hair. She says that changed his outlook.

“I think it’s really important that these kids learn the importance of giving back and helping and encouraging other kids and other students to do the same thing,” Shelby said.

He decided to donate his hair to Locks of Love. It’s a nonprofit that provides hair pieces to children across the nation suffering from long-term medical hair loss like alopecia and cancer. They accept hair that is at least 10 to 12 inches long. Banner ended up having 16 inches.

Banner said he is planning to grow his hair out for another eight years to cut it again. Banner and his mom said they hope to inspire other families to make a difference just as they did.

“I’m basically just going to let it grow and do it again. And then I’m going to let it grow so it can like swoop over kind of,” Banner said.

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