Three-Year-Old Girl's Selfless Donation Goes Viral

“To another little girl.”

ByABC News
December 1, 2014, 5:12 PM

— -- “To another little girl.”

That’s what 3-year-old Ariana of Winterport, Maine, said when her father Josh Smith asked where her donated hair was going to go.

It was then that the dad of two realized his toddler had a heart that was too big for words.

“I do a charity called Extra Life where I play video games to help raise money for kids,” he said. “Ariana happened to be sitting on my lap when a video played showing a little girl who was bald, lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her.”

When their daughter showed curiosity, Smith and his wife Crystal explained how medicine was what made the child in the video lose her hair.

“Without a second thought, Ariana said ‘Oh, well she can have some of my hair,’” Smith said. “That’s when my wife clued me in that they have these organizations where we could donate it.”

PHOTO: Ariana having her hair cut for a cause.
Ariana having her hair cut for a cause.

The Smiths chose “Locks of Love” to send Ariana’s generous gift to a child with medical hair loss.

A week later, Ariana was taken to the family hairdresser where 10 inches was cut from her hair.

PHOTO: The toddler had 10 inches cut from her hair.
The toddler had 10 inches cut from her hair.

“It was her first haircut,” Smith told ABC News. “She could be so selfless like that. Her first reaction is ‘How about I give up something that I have so a little girl can feel pretty'.

Smith posted his daughter's moving gesture on his Imgur page, where it's received almost 645,000 views in just two days.

PHOTO: Ariana's hair will help a child with medical hair loss.
Ariana's hair will help a child with medical hair loss.

“She’ll take an adult-like approach and it’s really amazing,” Smith said. “She is a typical little kid, but if she sees somebody in need, she certainly nurtures them. This made Ariana feel special and she’d definitely like to do it again.”