Knowing that he would have to cut off his hair upon entering the Air Force Academy, rather than cut and throw away 19 inches of his hair, an Alabama teen decided to donate it to children who lost theirs due to cancer.
KSNB4 News reported that Kieran Moïse of Huntsville wanted to help children with cancer after losing a friend to the disease in the eighth grade. The 17-year-old grew out his hair for six years, hoping it would be used to make wigs. His mother, Kelly, knew that it was time to make the donation after Kieran got his acceptance call from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“I’m going into the military, and I didn’t want to just cut it off and drop it on the floor,” he told the news outlet. “I wanted to give back because there are lots of people that need help.”
A nonprofit called Children With Hair Loss was the recipient of what once was Kieran’s afro. The organization provides human hair replacements to young children and teenagers struggling with hair loss due to cancer treatments, alopecia and burns.
Collectively, the group and the teen arranged for the haircut to take place at a local brewery. Kieran promoted the event by passing out flyers and sharing the news on social media. As a result, friends and loved ones, including several of his elementary and middle school teachers, got a chance to cut his hair that was styled with individual braids.
The soon-to-be soldier is appreciative of the support. “It’s good to see good news and see… that people are still doing good things because all it does is inspire others,” he told ABC News. “That’s really what I want to come out of this: I want other people to say ‘Hey, if he’s doing this, so can I.’ ”
In addition to donating his hair, Kieran also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where his childhood friend, Josh Quist, received treatment. But, he revealed, “that’s when I started hating cancer.”
Kieran’s Curls for Cancer had initially aimed to raise $19,000 or $1,000 per inch of hair. However, he has since well surpassed his goal, raising nearly $35,000 for the hospital. Kieran is a recent graduate of New Century Technology High School in Huntsville and will be heading to the Air Force Academy sometime this fall.
