Teen Raises Over R538k for Kids With Cancer After Shaving Off Huge Afro
- The teen, identified as Kieran Moïse started growing his hair while in the eighth grade, moments after losing one of his friends to brain cancer
- Kieran decided to shave off his hair after seeing people donate their hair to children who had lost theirs during cancer medical treatment
- Kieran had raised about R538 000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as of Saturday, June 10
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Who knew at some point in this life, hair will be something very important and lifesaving for that matter.
Source: UGC
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Well, a US-based teen recently confirmed to the world that hair is not just that and can be used to help a number of people, especially those battling cancer.
The Alabama teen who goes by Kieran Moïse, 18, decided to shave off his hair which he had grown for about six years to raise funds for children with cancer.
CNN reported that Kieran started growing his hair while in the eighth grade, moments after losing one of his friends to brain cancer.
According to Kieran, he decided to make the move after seeing people donate their hair to children who had lost theirs during cancer medical treatment and wanted to do the same.
This was made public by Kieran's mother Kelly Moïse, 49, who shared with CNN about her son's journey to help children affected by cancer.
"Kieran has always been known for his hair. It was a big part of his personality and who he was. But he has always been the most compassionate and caring person. Since he was 6 years old, he somehow had the mindset of raising money and giving it to people who need it, and that never changed." Kelly Moïse said.
Keiran to join the US Air Force Academy
Briefly News understands Kieran graduated from high school inMay 2021, with an impressive 19-inch Afro.
However, he had to trim his long afro for the cancer kids since he was set to join the US Air Force Academy.
Well, to improve the impact of his initiative, Kieran organised a live event at a US-based brewery in Huntsville and another online fundraising campaign called "Kieran's Curls for Cancer," where he aimed at raising R13 000 per inch cut.
About 100 people showed up at the event on May 29, where they got the chance to see Kieran get his afro braided and cut off.
His braided afro was donated to Children With Hair Loss, a non-profit organization in Michigan that makes free wigs for kids and young adults facing medically related hair loss.
As at the end of the event, Kieran had raised about R269 000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
His initiative continued to raise money online and had raised over R538 000 as of Saturday, June 10.
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
