The Little Princess Trust

In 2006, the parents of Hannah Tarplee established an incredible charity, The Little Princess Trust with the help of their friends and staff at Hereford Cathedral Junior School. Inspired by their wonderful daughter, Simon Tarplee and Wendy Tarplee Morris felt the biggest tribute they could make to her was to help as many young people as they could suffering the same consequences of hair loss.

During Hannah’s treatment, she found it very difficult to cope with the loss of her hair. Finding the perfect wig for Hannah had a greatly positive effect. Her parents saw just how Hannah’s new wig had helped to boost her confidence and identity and so, in the weeks after Hannah tragically passed away, Simon and Wendy – with the help of friends – provided a wig to another child with hair loss.

The Little Princess Trust was soon established to pay homage to Hannah and help children who had lost their own hair due to cancer treatment.

The Little Princess Trust helps children and young people suffering with hair loss caused by medical treatments and other conditions such as Alopecia by providing them with free, real natural hair wigs. However, not only are they creating these beautiful wigs to help put a smile on a child’s face, but The Little Princess Trust has also managed to fund research projects looking into finding new and improved ways of treating paediatric cancers.

Finding The Perfect Wig

Finding the perfect wig for each child and young person is a well-thought-out process. The charity takes into consideration the needs of the individual themselves as well as their families whether that is having home, hospital or salon visits. The charity also considers the suitability of a salon for each individual, so the whole process can be as enjoyable and exciting for them as possible. Once all of this information has been taken, they will be put in touch with the salon chosen for them and appointments can be arranged.

The appointment will be a time in which the individual can experiment and find the perfect wig for them, whether it be during one appointment or a few. The wigs can be tried on, fitted and styled to the desires of their new owner.

Donations

The Little Princess Trust is solely reliant on the donations and fundraising monies that they receive from supporters. The hair that is used to build and create their wigs, is all kindly donated by the people that so bravely took to the chair and got the big hair chop. These people have allowed the charity to provide nearly 2000 wigs each year.

As appreciative as the charity is of all their donations, the product they are receiving will be made into something used by another human being. Due to this, they must follow certain guidelines to ensure that hygiene and safety are at the forefront of all decisions. These guidelines allow the charity to be sure of exactly what hair they can and cannot use:

Donated hair must be in excellent condition

Hair must be a natural colour whether permanently dyed or natural hair colour

No split ends

Hair must be donated as ponytails

Supporters are encouraged to donate hair measuring 12’’and above

Ponytails must have been cut within the past 5 years, and well preserved

Hair accepted from within and outside the UK

Hair must be dry and clean from any gender and ethnicity

In great need of blonde and Afro-textured hair donations

To make their wigs, the Little Princess Trust is heavily reliant on the donations that they receive from supporters. Each wig costs £550 each to provide, and the donations that Little Princess Trust receives enable the charity to make, fit and style custom-made wigs.

We would have thought the work that the Little Princess Trust has been doing to create these wonderful bespoke wigs would have been truly admirable enough, but their work doesn’t stop there. Since the charity was established in 2006, they have received fundraised monies from supporters which have enabled them to pay for and provide 11,000 wigs to individuals; however, this money has also allowed the charity to fund particular grants.

As the charity grew and became more prominent in the UK, in the year 2016 the Little Princess Trust was able to begin their funding into the research of childhood cancers. Bringing us up to 2021, the charity has now funded approximately £15,000,000 worth of research into finding more effective and kinder treatments for childhood cancers.

The Little Princess Trust is a vital charity in restoring confidence and identity in the lives of children and young people at a truly crucial time. Without donations from supporters, none of this would be possible.

So if you would like to donate to The Little Princess Trust or if you or someone you know of is in need of one of these fantastic wigs, then visit their website at: https://www.littleprincesses.org.uk/.