Girls lop off hair for Locks of Love
Published: April 24, 2006
In September, members of Girl Scout Troop 145 decided they wanted to make a sacrifice to help those less fortunate.
While talking to her 9-year-old daughter, Natalie, about cutting her hair for the first day of school, troop leader Janice Jensen suggested that she hold off and instead make a donation to Locks of Love.
The nonprofit organization provides hairpieces to children suffering from medical long-term hair loss.
Janice Jensen then decided to present the idea to the rest of Troop 145, based in Stony Point. The other girls embraced the suggestion and made plans to go through with it. They decided to set an April date and see whose hair could grow the longest by then.
Yesterday, 11 girls got their hair cut at Oasis Hair Salon in Pearl River by four hairdressers. Each was seeking to donate 10 inches of hair — the required length — to Locks of Love. Three girls did not belong to the troop but were sponsored by troop members. Two were sisters of troop members.
In all, they donated 107 inches of hair to the organization.
“Girl Scouts is a learning experience,” Jensen said last week. “We’re trying to show the girls that they should learn to do for others and not themselves.”
Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to alopecia areata, a condition in which round patches of hair loss appear suddenly. The hair-growing tissue is attacked by the person’s own immune cells for unknown reasons.
There are three stages: sudden hair loss, then the patches enlarge and, last, new hair grows back. Although not life-threatening, the hair loss can be traumatic for a child. Locks of Love tries to help restore the children’s self-esteem and confidence by providing hairpieces.
Troop 145 has participated in other public-service projects, including making sandwiches and donating them to Midnight Run, which distributes food, clothing, blankets and personal-care items to the homeless.
“It makes me feel very proud that I’m doing this,” 10-year-old Lauren Mazza said last week. Although Lauren’s hair was not long enough for 10 inches to be cut, she donated her hair for a wig to be made and sold to help cover Locks of Love’s financial obligations.
“It makes a difference in the community and it shows you that you have to give something back,” Debbie Pochapsky, one of Oasis’ hairdressers, said last week.
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