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Charity money raised by teenager whose sister died of cancer stolen by thieves

She'd promised her sister that she would shave her head to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust and raise money

Rachel Hosie
Friday 20 April 2018 11:13 BST
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A teenage girl was left devastated when the money she’d raised by shaving her head in memory of her sister who died from cancer was stolen by thieves.

In January this year, to mark what would have been Katie’s 16th birthday, 17-year-old Hannah Anderson courageously shaved off her long hair to donate to the Little Princess Trust and to raise money for Little Havens Hospice, which looked after her sister Katie before her death.

Hannah successfully raised almost £1,000, but the day before she and her mother, Dee Anderson, were due to take the money to the hospice, the family were targeted by thieves who stole the envelope containing the cash.

Dee, from Brentwood, Essex, is now fundraising to recover the money and restore Hannah’s faith in humanity, as she was left devastated after the money was stolen.

Katie had suffered from a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 1, and when she was nine, a growth was discovered at the top of her spinal cord and she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

The young girl then underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before sadly passing away in August 2015.

When Katie lost her hair, she wore a wig from the Little Princess Trust. And Hannah had promised her she’d shave her head too when her hair was long enough, but sadly, Katie died before her sister had the chance.

So last January, a day before what would have been Katie’s 16th birthday, Hannah went to the hairdresser to have her head shaved.

She has autism and had never been in a hair salon before, yet bravely agreed not only to have all her hair shaved off, but also to do it in front of the camera.

As donations and support for Hannah poured in, the courageous teen raised £940.

Dee explained that collecting the sponsor money took a while, but they finally managed to get the last donations a couple of weeks ago.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I share with you that our home was targeted by a thief on Monday 16th April,” Dee, 48, wrote on GoFundMe.

As the pair were going to take the money to the charity that day, the envelope - which had “Little Havens Hospice” written on it - wasn’t hidden away where it had been. But Dee never imagined anyone would steal it.

“This person stole the money which had been so generously given, and which Hannah had bravely fundraised for.

“She is totally devastated that someone would do such a thing and feels that her efforts and her promise to her sister have been wasted.

“My appeal via this GoFundMe page is to help Hannah raise the money that was stolen and to help her to regain her faith in humanity.”

In two days, the campaign has raised the money back and more - the total currently stands at £1,176 which will surely make a huge difference to the hospice.

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