Caroline’s head shave provides ‘fringe’ benefits for two charities

Caroline Burns’ ‘hair-lowering’ experience also boosted a second charity as she has donated her shorn tresses to the Little Princess Trust. The organisation provides real hair wigs for children and young people suffering from cancer and other conditions.

The 47-year-old, who works at the Heart of England Co-op funeral branch in Coventry Steet, says her hair is now the shortest it has been since she was a baby.

“I’ve gone from one extreme to another. I’ve always had long hair but since the pandemic it had grown to 22 inches long. Going from that to a number three shave felt strange. For the first time in my life, I’ve got a fringe!

“I’m just not used to it being so short and I’ve been putting far too much shampoo in which has been stinging my eyes.”

The mother-of-two has lived in Southam for the past 25 years and says a lot of the money was donated by the local community.

She admits to having a tear in her eye when she realised how much had been raised.

“I never thought the total would be anything like that amount. I was overjoyed to raise so much money but also humbled by the support I’ve had from colleagues, friends, family, the local community and from the Heart of England Co-op which donated £250. I can’t thank everyone enough.

“Macmillan is such a great cause. They’ve been running a ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign to raise funds for cancer patients. We’ve also got a poster in the funeral home about the Little Princess Trust. I kept looking at it and just thought I could do something which could help two causes in one go.”

Funeral director Amanda Morey who carried out the shave said it took her around 20 minutes to complete the job.

“We cut all the long hair off first with scissors before I went to work on Caroline’s head with the shaver. I think she looks amazing – it’s taken 20 years off her.

“I’m so proud of what she’s achieved. It’s a big thing to do something like that. Not many people would volunteer to have so much hair cut off. To raise more than £1,400 for people suffering with cancer and for children who have lost their hair is just fantastic.”

Macmillan Cancer Support is the Heart of England Co-op’s corporate charity for 2025 and 2026. Prior to Caroline’s contribution, more than £10,000 had been raised by staff since February.

Sarah Harker, relationship fundraising manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, said:

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Caroline from all of us at Macmillan Cancer Support. ‘Braving the Shave’ really is quite the challenge, and we are so appreciative of her taking it on and raising so much money.

“Caroline has made a difference to people living with cancer and the whole Macmillan community is extremely grateful.”