Little girl makes big donation
Published: December 12, 2004
When she came bouncing into the Chics–N–Guys salon early Saturday afternoon, Lily For–seen’s wavy light brown locks spilled down her back to below her waist.
Later in the day, at lunch with her family, the 4–year–old Mount Pleasant girl still was bouncing.
But her hair no longer covered her back. In fact, it barely covered her neck, and was short enough for the tot to brush her cheeks with the ends as she turned her head to and fro. Meanwhile, back at the North Central Avenue salon, co–owner and stylist Jan Olson didn’t have a mound of hair to sweep up from the cut.
Most of what Olson trimmed away came off all at once, cut in a pony tail 14 1/2 inches long.
Having only the occasional cosmetic trim since the first time her bangs had to be cut at age 2 months, Lily’s hair will find its way soon to Locks of Love, a program that uses donated hair to create natural–looking wigs for people suffering medical hair loss. And video shot by her dad, Mike, could find its way into a documentary on Locks of Love.
For Locks of Love, Lily’s hair represents quite a haul.
“That’s pretty long for a 4–year–old,” Olson said, offering her professional opinion.
Tammy Forseen, Lily’s mom, said she first thought to grow out her daughter’s hair and making a donation when the girl was just 2. The minimum length for donation is 10 inches.
When the time came for Lily’s haircut, Tammy Forseen called Locks of Love to make arrangements. At that time, the family was asked to videotape the event and submit the tape for possible inclusion in a documentary the organization is producing.
Whether Lily winds up in the film is anybody’s guess. For her mother, the hope is that any amount of awareness the girl’s contribution generates helps gain more support for the foundation.
“I hope that we get more donations,” Tammy Forseen said. “Not we. Locks of Love. I don’t want the hair.”
How not having all that hair will affect Lily is a mystery the family hopes to soon learn the answer to. In some ways, Mike Forseen said, Lily’s hair was who she is. But with her daughter’s haircut still new Saturday afternoon, Tammy Forseen already could see one benefit from the change.
“Everybody was saying, ‘Don’t cut her hair,’ ” she said, “but they didn’t have to brush it.”
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