A YOUNG Mount Gambier girl has shown plenty of heart for those in need, recently donating her own locks to the Variety Hair with Heart program.
Five year old Rebel Altschwager recently cut her hair for the first time, donating the off-cuts to the charity program to be used in wigs for children who have lost their hair due to health conditions.
Rebel’s mother Kylie said they chose Variety Hair with Heart to “give back” after Rebel was born with a heart condition.
“She was six months old when she went into surgery,” Ms Altschwager said.
“When she was born she was not crying and she did not cry for ages until after she got her operation.
“The operation went for 14 hours and when they called us up to go see her afterwards, as soon as she heard our voices she started waking up.”
Named due to her “rebellious” nature against the odds, Rebel lost around 35cms of length in her hair after getting the big chop last week.
“Surprisingly she sat in the chair at the salon quite calmly and just did her thing while her hair was being cut which was great,” Ms Altschwager said.
“Rebel has quite a lot of sensory issues so brushing and washing hair was proving quite difficult.
“But more and more people are beginning to donate their hair to great causes which we think is absolutely fantastic.”
Variety Hair for Heart helps improve the self- esteem of children who have lost their hair due to long-term medical conditions.
