This Boy Was Called A Girl For Growing Out His Hair for Charity

Years of teasing and taunting from fellow classmates (and even adults!) couldn’t stop this 8-year-old Florida boy from growing and maintaining a head of long, blonde, Beyoncé-worthy hair to donate to charity.

After being inspired by a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital commercial he saw on television, Melbourne, Florida’s Christian McPhilamy (then 6 years old) decided to grow and donate his hair to kids living with cancer. The only problem was, at the time, he didn’t have long hair to donate.

So for two years, Christian committed to growing his locks out so that other  kids could have it, and last month, his little act of kindness came to fruition when he finally had enough hair to donate.

You’d think that with intentions as good as Christian’s, people would be supportive. But despite his good heart and his willingness to help others, Christian some of his elementary school peers bullied him over his locks.

“He has endured an awful lot of criticism, and yes even bullying, throughout this time,” said Christian’s mother Deeanna Thomas in a Facebook post. “From his peers calling him a girl to even coaches and family friends telling him he should cut it or offering him money to.”

In spite of the haters, Christian managed to reach his charitable goal, and for that we salute him.

“Even still, he has never once, strayed from his goal and always took the time to educate others on why he made the choice to grow his hair,” said his mom. “I am one proud mommy as always.”

What do you think of Christian's brave, selfless act? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!