Utah boy, 8, donates hair to charity for kids; ‘I just love helping people’
Feb 16, 2018, 10:15 PM | Updated: Feb 17, 2018, 12:06 am
SPANISH FORK — An 8-year-old boy received a much-anticipated haircut Friday after he planned for more than two years to donate his hair, so another child with cancer could benefit from it.
The life of a child can be a blur, quickly moving from toy to toy, new adventure to new adventure. In all of just a few short minutes on any given day, Tate Morgan, may jump from his Pokémon card collection to his larger-than-life tiger head to his Batman and Spiderman action figures. That frenetic pace may make his patience and determination about his hair that much more noteworthy.
Morgan had been growing his hair for more than a quarter of his young life. The last hair cut came Dec. 24, 2015.
“He’s like, ‘mom, I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to cut my hair,’” Tate’s mother, Kassandra Morgan said. “I was like, ‘why?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know. I want to do something good with it.’”
Ever since, the boy has skipped regular haircuts in favor of unbridled growth. Friday, his hair extended well below his shoulders.
“Every time I go to a new school with long hair, they call me a girl!” Tate Morgan exclaimed. “I’m a boy!”
To him, the questions and looks had been worth it. His long hair had a purpose.
He and his mom drove to Orem Friday afternoon and walked into Cookie Cutters, a salon off of University Parkway that caters to children.
Stylist Tyra Eckersell gathered Morgan’s strands into a ponytail, and handed the scissors to his mom.
In a few short snips, the long hair was gone.
“Can I say, ‘bye,’ to my hair?” the boy asked, kissing the ponytail.
His mom beamed.
“Like, I half want to cry, but I’m half excited,” Kassandra Morgan said. “I’m so happy. I’m proud of him.”
Kassandra Morgan said the hair was being donated to Children With Hair Loss.
Eckersell said this was the first time she had seen a boy grow his hair long and donate it.
“I just love how little kids have the biggest hearts,” Eckersell said. “They just want to give.”
Morgan danced as he looked in the mirror and said he was happy with his new hairstyle that was short on the sides and up in front.
“Because I just love helping people!” he exclaimed.
He and his mom were happy two years of determination were going to help someone else.
“I’m speechless,” Kassandra Morgan said. “I can’t stop looking at him!”
