6-year-old's charity haircut heartbreak

Sunday 15 April 2018

A six-year-old boy in Jersey has been left disappointed that he didn’t raise enough money to win a fundraising competition, which would have given him the opportunity to cut his mum’s friends hair to be made into wigs for people who have lost theirs through illness…but is pleased he has helped bat research in the Channel Islands.

Devin Binet took up the challenge to chop Kate Sharma’s 18-inch locks, after she decided to put a little twist on the hair donation, by making it into a competition. Not only did the person who raised the most money get to donate it to their chosen charity, but they also got the fun task of cutting Kate’s beloved hair, which has taken her four-years to grow.

Devin jumped at the chance to take part, as he wouldn’t dream of getting his own long tresses cut short but liked the idea of helping others. His mum Ani thought it would be a great way to raise money for new bat research equipment for ‘Annyctalus Ecology’ – a Jersey registered non-profit organisation which she volunteered for.

Ani set a fundraising target of £860 to buy a SM4 bat detector with microphone, which will be sent on a long-term loan to the Alderney Wildlife Trust.

Pictured: Kate's hair was cut by gardening tools, as the Harrington Scheme just beat Devin to first place in the fundraising competition.  

Ani says the equipment has been vital for Jersey Bat Group to discover new bat species and roosting sites, including a ‘Lesser horseshoe’ bat, which was detected in the island for the first time last March.  

She said: “We’re doing autumn swarming and hibernation research and we are trying to find out the movement of bats within the Channel Islands.” The weather proof equipment would enable the Alderney Wildlife Trust and the Jersey Bat Group to “get recordings all night, every night for up to three weeks which will give a really good indication on levels of altitude and species (…) the information we get is really important to help build a picture of [bat habits and movement in] the Channel Islands.”

But Devin’s hopes were dashed on April Fool’s Day as only £708.20 was raised for the Jersey charity, which wasn’t enough to win the fundraising competition or buy the equipment.

Ani told Express; “He is disappointed to have not been able to cut Kate’s hair but feels happy to have raised so much money.

“I’m amazed that we got so much and really appreciate all the support that we got. Unfortunately, it’s not enough for the SM4 but we are leaving the fundraising page open for the moment in the hope we can raise the last hundred pounds or so.”

Pictured: Ani hoped the haircut fundraiser would raise enough money to buy specialist bat research equipment that would be loaned to the Alderney Wildlife Trust. 

If the full amount can’t be raised, Ani plans on buying cheaper experimental detectors called ‘Audiomoth’ to loan to the Alderney Wildlife Trust, but doesn’t believe they will give as accurate information saying; “We have ordered two to try out and if they live up to expectations we will get some of these for Alderney when they are next released as they are only £50 each. They are unlikely to be as sensitive as the SM4 and run on AA batteries so will have a shorter battery life, but they will hopefully give some data which is more than we currently have for Alderney.”

Kate said; “It was a very close run thing, and actually if Ani had been able to utilise Gift Aid she would have won hands down.

“We are really grateful to everyone who donated, with most of the donations coming from the mainland I feel it shows how important the research that Annyctalus undertakes is and how Ani and her work is recognised by international colleagues.”

Pictured: Devin just missed out on winning the fundraising competition but the 'Just Giving' Page has been left open for anyone who still wants to donate. 

But in the end Kate’s hair was cut short via gardening tools, by the person raising money for the Harrington Scheme - a London charity which supports people with autism and learning disabilities to learn to be gardeners and to gain work experience - as they won the competition with a total of £728.82.

Overall, £2167.02 was raised through the fundraiser which will also benefit the British Heart Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Society, a charity close to Kate’s heart after she lost both her grandparents last year from the disease.