We recently had a chat with one of our recent fundraisers, Karen Anderson, who has been fundraising for Alopecia UK. 

Karen, why did you decide to support Alopecia UK?

I chose to support Alopecia UK as I was looking for a charity associated with what I was doing (cutting my hair off). I have previously done this a few times for various charities. I realised that so many of the cancer charities receive so much in the way of support and funding and I understand the struggles smaller charities, like Alopecia UK, can face so was keen to support a lesser known charity this time. 

Tell us about your sponsored hair cut

For the fourth time, I chose to cut my hair short. My hair is my crowning glory however, I recognise that I am hugely fortunate that it grows ridiculously quickly - was only 20 months ago that I last cut 10 inches off! This time I decided to go SHORT! Shorter than it's ever been before and took off a whopping 14 inches of hair! The hair was sent to the Little Princess Trust to help make wigs for children and young people who need them and I am slowly but surely getting used to life with short hair again - SO much harder to maintain as I can no longer just wash it and stick a bobble in it!!

How does it feel to have raised such an amazing amount for Alopecia UK?

I am so chuffed to have raised just under £600 (£700 including gift aid) for such a deserving charity and not only that but to have helped raise some awareness for them. From my very first conversation with Amy, I was made to feel so special for choosing to support them and it made me all the more determined to raise a decent sum of money - even going shorter than intended just to do my dad out of an extra £100 donation!! I am unsure if I'll grow it and chop it again at the moment but goes without saying, if I do it will be in aid of this wonderful charity again.

A HUGE thank you to Karen for raising awareness and much-needed funds for Alopecia UK. It is very rare to be contacted by someone who doesn't have a personal connection to alopecia yet wants to support us. If you would like to leave a small donation to support Karen's fundraising for Alopecia UK, her page is still open here.