Alabama teenager donates his hair for children with cancer
Alabama teenager donates his hair for children with cancer
In this Saturday, May 29, 2021, photo, provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kelly Moïse hugs her son Kieran after cutting the last braid from his hair during a live donation fundraiser, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” for the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss in Huntsville, Ala. So far, they’ve raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this Saturday, May 29, 2021, photo, provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kelly Moïse hugs her son Kieran after cutting the last braid from his hair during a live donation fundraiser, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” for the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss in Huntsville, Ala. So far, they’ve raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this Saturday, May 29, 2021, photo, provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kelly Moïse hugs her son Kieran after cutting the last braid from his hair during a live donation fundraiser, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” for the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss in Huntsville, Ala. So far, they’ve raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, family friend Amber Bray, left, cuts a braid from Kieran Moïse’s hair during a public fundraiser held to donate his 19-inch hair to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer” through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in hopes of raising $1,000 per inch of hair. The goal was exceeded and has raised nearly $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, family friend Amber Bray, left, cuts a braid from Kieran Moïse’s hair during a public fundraiser held to donate his 19-inch hair to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer” through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in hopes of raising $1,000 per inch of hair. The goal was exceeded and has raised nearly $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kieran Moïse, 17, has his 19-inch hair cut and donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically-related hair loss, on Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of classmate Josh Quist, who died from cancer. So far their charity, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” has raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kieran Moïse, 17, has his 19-inch hair cut and donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically-related hair loss, on Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of classmate Josh Quist, who died from cancer. So far their charity, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” has raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kelly Moïse, left, watches her husband, Patrick Moïse, cut their son Kieran’s hair during a live donation fundraiser, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” for the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. So far, they’ve raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, Kelly Moïse, left, watches her husband, Patrick Moïse, cut their son Kieran’s hair during a live donation fundraiser, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” for the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. So far, they’ve raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this image provided by Gregg Gelmis, friends and family publicly cut Kieran Moïse’s hair, which was then donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of classmate Josh Quist, who died from cancer. So far their charity, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” has raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this image provided by Gregg Gelmis, friends and family publicly cut Kieran Moïse’s hair, which was then donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of classmate Josh Quist, who died from cancer. So far their charity, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” has raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, barber Jeff Johnson, left, cuts 17-year-old Kieran Moïse’s hair, which was then donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of classmate Josh Quist, who died from cancer. So far their charity, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” has raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
In this photo provided by Gregg Gelmis, barber Jeff Johnson, left, cuts 17-year-old Kieran Moïse’s hair, which was then donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss, Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Huntsville, Ala. Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of classmate Josh Quist, who died from cancer. So far their charity, “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer,” has raised $35,000. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
This photo combo of images taken Saturday, May 29, 2021, and provided by Gregg Gelmis, shows Kieran Moïse, 17, before and after having his 19-inch hair cut and donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically-related hair loss, in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
This photo combo of images taken Saturday, May 29, 2021, and provided by Gregg Gelmis, shows Kieran Moïse, 17, before and after having his 19-inch hair cut and donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically-related hair loss, in Huntsville, Ala. (Courtesy of Gregg Gelmis via AP)
Kieran Moïse’s afro was a splendid 19 inches, a huge part of his personality. But after six years of growth, the 17-year-old Alabamian knew that he and his hair would soon be parted: He was bound for the U.S. Air Force Academy.
So in memory of a friend who died from cancer, he cut it off and donated it to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically related hair loss due to cancer treatments, alopecia and burns.
“I knew I didn’t want it to just get cut off and thrown on the floor, so I wanted to give back,” he said. “I knew I wanted to send a message.”
He did — and many responded. Moïse printed out flyers and spread the word on social media for an event held by the nonprofit at a brewery in Huntsville, Alabama. There, family, friends and even some of his elementary and middle school teachers took turns cutting his hair in braids. His story was widely shared online.
“It’s good to see good news and see ... that people are still doing good things, because all it does is inspire others,” he said.
“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.’”
Moïse also launched a fundraiser through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which had helped his late classmate, Josh Quist. He died when they were in middle school. “That’s when I started hating cancer,” Moïse said.
Initially, Moïse hoped he could raise $19,000, or $1,000 per inch of hair. “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer” has exceeded expectations and has already raised nearly $35,000 for St. Jude.
Small gestures of kindness, Moïse said, can spread. “When you smile, that usually makes someone else smile, and then that one smile can brighten someone else’s day,” he said.
“I know I’ve had rough days where someone just does something nice for me or I see them do something nice to someone else, and I remember that the whole day.”
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“One Good Thing” is a series that highlights individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times — stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the collection of stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing
