Girl gives a lifetime’s growth of hair to charity
Published: March 7, 2006
Sumner Grubbs was more excited about the gift she planned on giving for her seventh birthday than the presents she might receive.
Grubbs, who turned 7 Sunday, donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.
About a year ago, a girl Grubbs goes to church with donated her hair to Locks of Love. Grubbs has wanted to do the same thing ever since, she said.
Donated hair has to be at least 10 inches long so Grubbs had to wait for her hair to grow the appropriate length.
When she woke up Saturday morning the first thing she said was “I’m getting my hair cut today,” said her mom, Katie Grubbs.
That was still the thing she was most excited about even after Katie reminded her about her bowling birthday party scheduled later that day.
When Sumner first announced that she wanted to donate her hair, her mom worried that she was too young to understand what she was doing. Together they got on the Locks of Love Web site and talked about where her hair would go.
Seeing girls who had lost their hair made Sumner want to do it even more. Some of the girls might feel like they look like boys without their hair, she said.
“(I want) to make them feel good,” Sumner said.
The hair cut was Sumner’s first major one, her mom said. “It’s a lot of hair for a little girl.”
But it was also a reminder of Sumner’s desire to help others and served as a reminder that she is healthy.
“It will grow back,” she said.
As the pony tail fell to the floor, Sumner couldn’t help giggling and grinning. In the end, her new bob was just what she wanted - it matched the hair style of her mom and her doll Kit.
After she shook her hair, Sumner announced that she would keep it short for a while, but eventually she would like to grow it out and donate it again, she said.
Her mother couldn’t help remarking how different she looked and, although she had liked Sumner’s long hair, how the new cut will be more manageable.
“We used a lot of conditioner,” Katie Grubbs said.
Though her birthday party was yet to come, Sumner said she’d already enjoyed the best part of her day.
Giving something away instead of getting something for her birthday didn’t seem strange to her.
“It’s like a goody bag,” Sumner said.
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