Mom and 6 Sons Cut Off 17 Inches of Hair for Charity: 'They Were All Beaming With Pride'

(INSIDE EDITION) Talk about a drastic haircut! A New York mom and her six sons donated 17 inches of their hair to kids who wouldn't otherwise be able to grow their own.

Earlier this week, Phoebe Kannisto of Cheektowaga, marched 10-year-old Andre, 8-year-old identical twins Silas and Emerson, and 5-year-old fraternal triplets Herbie, Reed and Dexter to a local hair salon, Hizair to have a haircut after several months or years of growing the hair.

"After the haircuts, they were all beaming with pride," Phoebe told InsideEdition.com. "It's been four days and they're still smiling."

Her 2-year-old daughter Marah Taylor and husband of 11 years, Eric Kannisto, proudly cheered on the family.

Three years ago, Kannisto explained, a close friend had lost a son to cancer.

"He was a twin, and close in age to my twins," she said. "On the first anniversary of his passing, my three oldest children donated their hair in his memory."

Thus began their family's tradition to grow out their locks, and donate it all to Children With Hair Loss, a non-profit organization that gifts children and adults facing medically related hair loss with real human hair wigs, which can be quite expensive.

While her sons were growing out their hair, Kannisto said they were often mistaken for daughters.

"And then there would be total confusion," she joked. "For people that knew us, our boys were just known for their long hair."

When the six boys finally had the satisfaction of chopping off their hair, their youngest sister watched jealously.

"Their little sister desperately wanted to donate with them," the mom-of-seven said. "They promised her they'd all do it again. Next time, they plan on all seven of them to donating together."