Teen supporter cuts hair for Action

18-year-old Ella Morgan is about to go undergo a radical makeover. The college graduate from Bedfordshire – who currently works part time in a residential care home – will soon be saying a fond farewell to her long (VERY long) locks. On Saturday 10 August, Ella will be entrusting a hairdresser friend to snip off around 20 inches in order to help raise money for Action Medical Research. We caught up with the teenager to find out why she chose to help us and how she’s feeling ahead of the hair cut.

Hi Ella! Well, from your photos we can clearly see you’ve got lovely long hair. How long have you been growing it for?

Thank you! I have basically been growing my hair for 18 years, ever since I was born. I have had the ends trimmed, but I’ve never had more than 2 or 3 inches cut off so this is going to be quite a big change!

Who is going to have the honour of using those scissors?

I’ve got a close friend who is a wonderful hairdresser and so talented so she will be cutting my hair. She is currently an apprentice at Daniel Granger Hairdressing in Northampton and they’re kindly letting us cut it there.

And whose idea was it to raise funds for charity?

Well, I’d been thinking for a while about whether or not I should just cut my hair. But when you’ve lived with it for so long, I found it quite a hard decision to make. It was my sister, Charlotte, who actually suggested I set up a fundraising page. She told me how amazing it would be to raise some money for a charity that means a lot to me and that really helped me make my mind up.

So why Action?

When my sister was 24 weeks pregnant with my nephew he had a stroke which then resulted in him being born with mild cerebral palsy. He is the happiest little child I know and he means so much to me that I just wanted to raise awareness for those who aren’t very familiar with issues like these. I know Action does a lot of work to help fund research into numerous conditions that affect babies and children - and the effects they can have on families – and I just wanted to show my support.

Thank you, we really do appreciate your help and support. How are you feeling about saying goodbye to your long locks?

Honestly I’m quite scared, sad and nervous because I’ve always had long hair. But on the other hand I’m extremely excited because it’s a big change and knowing that it’s for a good cause like this is even better! Also hair grows back and other people need my hair more than I do and charities like yours need the money for medical reasons and I couldn’t be happier doing it!

So what will you do with the 20 inches of hair that’s cut off?

I am doing a double donation, so as well as setting up a fundraising page and raising money for Action, I am also donating my hair to the Little Princess Trust for little children and young adults who have lost their hair from cancer treatment or other reasons. This charity makes real hair wigs for them and like I mentioned before, other people need my hair more than I do so I’m over the moon to be doing this!

Ella is hoping to raise £500 for Action.

Find out more and show your support on her Just Giving page.