Seven-year-old Buxton girl's drive to "make a difference"

Isla had 18 inches of hair cut off for charity. (Picture by Ash French)

Seven-year-old Isla Brown, asked if she could donate her hair to charity but when she realised ‘men and boys won’t benefit from the wigs’ she decided to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer as well.

Isla has raised an impressive £740 so far, over £200 more than her original target, and donated 18 inches of hair to The Little Princess Trust as well.

Dad Adam Brown, said: “It was a tear-jerker when Isla asked to donate her hair to charity, but then to say that men and boys won’t benefit from the wigs, that she wanted to raise money too.

Hairdresser, Heidi, cut Isla's hair for free. (Pictures by Ash French)

“Two charities are benefiting from one child’s selfless act of kindness – The Little Princess Trust will receive Isla’s hair donation and all the sponsor money will go to Stand Up To Cancer.”

Isla has told her parents that this ‘won’t be the only time she does something for charity’.

She said: “I’m not going to stop because I want to make a difference and help all the people who need it.”

Adam added: “Myself and Isla’s mum cannot express enough how proud we are of our little girl.”

Nicki Embleton, Stand Up To Cancer spokesperson for Derbyshire, said: “We at Stand Up To Cancer and Cancer Research UK are extremely grateful to Isla for her amazing and generous fundraising to help others.

“Not only will she be making a difference to a child going through cancer right now by donating her hair, Isla will also be making a difference to those faced by cancer in the future by supporting vital research.”

Adam added: “Myself, Kym and Isla would also like to thank local YouTube vlogger Ash French who took the photos on the night, and also helped to design the posters for Isla’s fundraiser.”

So far, Stand Up To Cancer has raised £62 million, funded 52 ground-breaking trials, involving 11,000 patients. The charity is formed by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 and is ‘a fundraising campaign that brings the UK together to speed up progress in life-saving cancer research’.

Isla’s other chosen charity, The Little Princess Trust, was established in 2006 by the parents of Hannah Tarplee, their friends and Hereford Cathedral Junior School – Hannah was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour in 2004 and sadly passed away in 2005.