Last Friday, 8-year old Tate Morgan made a charitable donation more than two years in the making. He cut off his long hair and donated it to Children with Hair Loss, a charity that provides real human hair to young people who have lost their hair for medical reasons, most notably cancer.
The last time Tate, who has high-functioning autism, got his hair cut was Christmas Eve 2015. After that, he decided he wanted to let it grow and do something meaningful with it.
“He’s like, ‘Mom, I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to cut my hair,'” explains Tate’s mom, Kassandra. “I was like, ‘Why?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know. I want to do something good with it.'”
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For more than two years, Tate grew out his hair so that he could one day pass it on to a kid just like him who lost theirs to cancer.
“I just love helping people,” says Tate.
While Tate enjoyed getting to skip his regular haircuts for over two years, but he also had to adjust to how people looked at him as an 8-year old boy with hair below his shoulders.
“Every time I go to a new school with long hair, they call me a girl,” said Tate. “I’m a boy!”
Finally, the day came when Tate was able to donate his long hair to a good cause. Stylist Tyra Eckersell had the pleasure of cutting off Tate’s philanthropic ponytail in just a few snips. She said she’s never seen a young boy grow and donate so much hair before.
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“I just love how little kids have the biggest hearts,” said Eckersell. “They just want to give.”
Tate was a little sad to part ways with his long hair. But afterward he was excited to see his new short haircut in the mirror. He’s even more excited to see two years worth of hair go to a good cause.