It’s taken Adam Burns nine of his 16 years on Earth to grow his hair two standard ruler lengths, and in just a few minutes, it will all be gone.
But the 60cm chop won’t be in vain.
The Greater Shepparton Secondary College student will do it for three reasons.
One, he wants a new do; two, to raise money for the Kids with Cancer charity, and three: so his lovely locks can be transformed into a wig for a child who’s lost their hair during cancer treatment.
“At first I had the urge to just shave it all off, but then I asked Mum if we could donate the hair because I didn’t want to do it for nothing; nine years is a long time to grow it all back if I wanted to,” Adam said.
“We searched on Google some charities and found Wigs4Kids to donate the hair to and thought it would be nice to raise as much (money for them) as I could before cutting it.”
His fundraising goal started at $500; however, when he surpassed that in just one day, he upped it to $1000.
With his current donation tally already at $915 after one week, he’s rethinking it again.
A wig made by Australian home business Ella Wigmakers for the charity costs $2750, as it’s made to fit each individual child’s head measurements.
The wigs, which are provided free to children who need them, each take around 40 hours to make.
“If I were to raise that much ($2750), I would be so happy,” Adam said.
“I didn’t expect to get as many donations as I have so far.”
Adam doesn’t personally know any recipients of a Wigs4Kids wig, but as a charitable human, he empathises anyway.
“I really couldn’t imagine what these kids go through and wanted to try and give them something to smile about during a really tough time,” he said.
Adam’s mum, Megan Burns, said she was proud of Adam.
“His hair is so long and nice and it will make someone very happy,” she said.
“Wigs4Kids have been fantastic, sending us information and keeping us updated on donations made; it really is an amazing charity.”
Adam will book in for his epic cut at his regular family hairdresser, Mainwaves, once he’s reached his goal.
He said he was nervous about it but shared his supportive family and friends’ excitement about seeing what he looks like with short hair.
“It’s going to feel so weird,” Adam said.
“If I don’t like my haircut, I can just grow it out and do it all over again.”
You can help Adam reach his goal by donating to or sharing his fundraising page here: tinyurl.com/Wigs4KidsAdamBurns