Little girls cut their long locks for a cause close to their heart

Hair tends to be a special thing for young girls. Ask any mum and they’ll you what a nightmare it can be trying to convince their daughter to go to the hairdressers.

But for Angelina Zaiter and her cousins Emelia and Olivia Maait, their hair holds extra significance.

“I started growing my hair after my dad passed away. I realised that many other families were going through cancer and I wanted to make a difference,” Angelina tells TODAY.

The 11-year-old’s father, Joe, died of brain cancer four and a half years ago, after undergoing four surgeries to save him. Two of the procedures were performed by renowned Australian neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo, who continued providing hope to the family throughout Joe’s struggle with the disease.

It was Dr Teo’s support of their family that inspired the girls to pay it forward.

After Angelina told cousins Emilia and Olivia about her plan, they followed suit, with the trio deciding not only to grow their hair together but to also cut it all off.

"I thought what Angelina was doing was very, very nice. I thought my hair was getting long so I should grow it with her,” Emilia explains.

The girls did their research and agreed that along with donating money to they wanted to donate their hair to, a children's charity that creates wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

Surrounded by all their friends and family in a hair salon belonging to Angelina’s Aunty Yvonne, the first snips were made to the sound of cheers and applause.

Preparing for the big chop, Olivia grinned, "I'm feeling like I have butterflies in my tummy.”

"Joe was very free-spirited, and just spoke his mind, so he'd be like, ‘You don't have to do it,’” Yvonne tells TODAY.

"At the same time, I think he'd be so proud.”

The girls have already raised more than $14,000. Click here if you'd like to donate to Dr Teo's foundation or here for Variety.