10-year-old B.C. boy raises more than $3K for hospice that cared for his dying great-aunt

A 10-year-old member of the Lake Babine and Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nationshas turned the culturaltradition of not cutting your hair for a year after a loved one dies into a fundraiserfor thePrince George Hospice Society, raising more than $3,000 in the process.

When his great-aunt died of cancer a year ago, Dalton West asked how he could honour her. His mother, Kerry Alec,told himit is cultural tradition to not cut your hair for a year to symbolizemourning.

West did just that, growing his hair to just below his shoulders.

Then, as the anniversary of his aunt's death approached, West decided to makethe mostof his impending haircut, organizing a fundraiser to honour her.

On Monday, the Grade 5 student and hismother made the four-hour tripfrom their home in Burns Laketo Prince George. Once theyarrived in the city,theyvisited a barber, and then went to the Prince George Hospice Society with a $3,760 cheque far more than the $1,000 Westhad hoped to collect.

"It's a hugely generous donation," said Donna Flood, the society's executive director, who noted the donation moved her team to tears.

"The fact that the little boy was able to do that is just awesome."

Roberta Alec, West's mother's aunt, worked as a teaching assistant at Morris Williams Elementary School in Burns Lake before living her final days at the Prince George Hospice.

Kerry Alec said her aunt passed many cultural traditions on to her family and students, from picking and preparingberries to teaching them to speak phrases in the Dakelh language.

Roberta Alec died of cancer at the age of 62on Feb. 1, 2020 at the Prince George Hospice, but not before receiving many visits from her extended family including a wedding party when her daughter got married.

"[The hospice staff]went above and beyond," Kerry Alec said."The support they showed was just incredible ...They allowed our family to have a wedding. Roberta's daughter was married at the hospice, so Roberta [could] be at the wedding."

Kerry Alec announced her son'sfundraiser for the hospice onJan. 18 which would have been Roberta's birthday.She asked her social media contactstochip in, and the donations far exceeded her expectations.

Kerry Alec says she is proud of her son's determination to turn grief into social impact.

"He took it upon himself to ask, 'What we can do to honour her?'" shesaid. "He has such a big heart."

Asked how he feels after making the donation, West was more focused on the impact of having shorter hair: "Good, but kind of cold," he said.

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