Kieran Moïse, a young, compassionate teen, decided to put his impressive 19” Afro hairdo to good use by offering his beautiful curls in a charity drive.
The 17-year old was joining the United States Air Force Academy, where his imposing Afro would instantly be sheared off and swept into the garbage, along with thousands of other new recruits. That’s when Kieran conjured up a way to have his pride and joy put to good use; by inviting the community in Huntsville, Alabama, to watch him get his Afro shaved off in a charity drive to benefit kids with cancer.
“My son has always had a huge heart,” said Kelly Moïse, 49. “He was determined that if he was going to have to get a haircut anyway, then he should pay it forward in a way that would help as many people as possible.”
Ever since he was a child, Kieran always took pride in his appearance. For the last 6 years, he had grown his hair out, opting not to have it cut or trimmed until it stood high and wide above his head, impressing all that came into contact with him.
17-year-old Kieran Moise is heading to the US Air Force Academy in the fall, and decided he wanted to donate his hair to be used for wigs for children battling cancer. In addition to donating 19 inches of hair, he also raised $20,000 for St. Jude. https://t.co/YDsJlOeiGr
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) June 1, 2021
Kieran’s inspiration to help children suffering from the dreaded disease was due in part to losing one of his best friends to cancer when he was in eighth grade.
Kelly said that her son’s goal was to raise a $1,000 per inch for his Afro, then he would give the proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. He would also donate his curls to Children With Hair Loss, a Michigan nonprofit organization that provides free human hair wigs to children and young adults with medically related hair loss.
“He wants people to know that if he can donate his hair, then anyone can,” said Kelly. “He’s hoping that everyone will be encouraged to go out there and commit their own small act of kindness.”
She went on to add, “He was born with a beautiful head full of hair, and for his entire life, that’s the first thing everyone noticed about him. Everywhere he went, he was the guy with the big hair. There was no way not to notice it.”
Kelly and her husband, Patrick, have taken hundreds of amusing photos of their son’s impressive Afro through the years. Family photos show Kieran being cheeky with his hair, like hiking in the woods with a giant leaf on his head. He even strung his hair with a crown of blinking lights for Christmas one year.
“Every Sunday night, I’d help him condition it one section at a time while he sat through two movies,” she recalled. “That hair was a huge part of his personality.”
However, the moment came when Kieran had to cut off his beautiful locks once he was accepted into the Air Force Academy.
According to his parents, even though he knew he would have to shave his head once he attended the Air Force Academy, Kieran said it was worth it.
“He knew from a very young age that he wanted to be an engineer and an astronaut,” said Patrick, 56. “Being accepted at the Academy was a dream come true, but also part of his path to doing great things.”
Kieran is now residing in Colorado Springs where the Air Force Academy is located, and he hopes his story will inspire others to do what he did.
On May 29th, a few days after Kieran graduated from New Century Technology High School, roughly 100 people showed up to the charity drive to watch him get his head shaved.
Kieran didn’t stop there. He’s set up a web page called “Kieran’s Curls for Cancer”, and he has already collected over $50,000 and counting.
His message below to those who still want to donate reads; “I have been growing my hair out for many years with the goal of donating it to charity. Now that it is time to shave it, I would like to raise $1,000 per inch for St. Jude’s Hospital. My hair is 19 inches long and that $19,000 will do so much good to help families dealing with cancer. One of my good friends in middle school died from cancer and I know St. Jude’s really helped his family. This is just one way that I feel like I can give back. It will also help make some really good wigs for kids! Please donate and help me reach my goal! I will be shaving my hair at Straight to Ale on May 29th if you would like to join us. If not, we will be doing a live event online.”
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News
"*" indicates required fields
