Last Friday, students from St Joseph’s Primary School, Kilaben Bay gathered with their families to enjoy an end-of-term choir performance and rock concert before supporting Matilda to chop her ponytail to make a hair donation to the Cancer Council’s Ponytail Project.

“I wanted to donate my hair to someone with cancer to make a wig,” Matilda said.

“I'd be really sad if I had no hair and I'm sure there are lots of people with cancer who would really like a wig, so I decided to donate my hair to help.”

Matilda started with a goal of raising $200 to donate towards cancer research along with her hair, and with the help of her school community, she has raised over $1,200.

“I feel really happy about the donations,” Matilda said.

Not only is this a fantastic achievement, but it meant that Principal, Mr Bradley Fuller would also line up for a haircut.

“I made a promise to the students that if Matilda raised $1,000, then I would then put myself up to get my hair shaved.” Mr Fuller said.

“She’s reached $1,200 and, well, that’s my hair gone.”

Mr Fuller said that it’s a priority for St Joseph’s to support students who want to step up and make a difference in their community.

“I thought Matilda had a fantastic idea and we’re always willing to support students who want to make a difference, especially at this age,” Mr Fuller said.

“We’re all very proud of Matilda. The fact that she's supporting cancer is important to me because it's something that my family has been on the bad end of a number of times.”

Mr Fuller added that Matilda’s passion to help others has inspired her peers to support causes of their own.

“I think it's important that the school community recognises the leadership of its students,” he said.

“Two days after this fundraiser was brought to me by Matilda, I had three students from Year 6 approach me to ask if they could run a fundraiser to support the Koala Hospital in Port Stephens.

“I know that the children here at St Joseph’s are taking up those leadership responsibilities and are looking to see how they can give back to the community. I think that’s really impressive. 

“School is more than just about books. We're hoping that when children leave here, they're actually starting that journey towards making a difference in the world.” 

Follow mnnews.today on Facebook.