All Saints Locks of Love donation an act of ’sheer’ generosity
Published: June 1, 2006
The assembly hall of All Saints Episcopal School erupted with cheering and applause on Monday, May 22, as four students and one teacher contributed at least 50 inches of their own hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization providing hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from any type of medical hair loss in the United States and Canada.
Four stylists from On Stage Hair Salon volunteering their time for the event clipped 10-12-inch ponytails off of Kindergartener Katherine Myrick, second grader Angelica Doucet, third grader Bailey Jones and fifth grader Katie Standing while a roomful of elementary students counted down to the moment when the ponytails came flying off.
Doucet was confident about donating her hair, especially after researching Locks of Love on the Internet.
“I thought it would be nice to give someone my hair because they don’t have any,” said Doucet, whose long braids had never been cut. “I saw pictures on the Internet of the kids who had wigs, and they were so much happier.”
The day was organized by All Saints teachers Paige Pemberton and Nina Kenney.
“Several teachers and students have donated hair in the past, so I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be fun at the end of the (school) year to have a hair cut party?’” said Pemberton, who grew her long, dark hair for two years specifically so she would be able to make a donation to Locks of Love. “This school is about teaching children to give to others. This is something that truly comes from them; something they can give that is their own.”
Pemberton was more than ready to donate 10 inches of her own hair and came to the event equipped with a photo of the hairstyle she dreamed of having once her ponytail was clipped.
“It’s a sacrifice for the children, but not for me,” Pemberton said with a smile.
Proud parents and grandparents of the four brave girls also attended the event, with camcorders and cameras in hand.
“I think this is such a worthwhile thing to do,” said Tammie Standing, whose daughter, Katie’s hair had grown well below her waist. “When a family is going through something so difficult as cancer, we can’t always be there to help. Doing something like this is basically saying to these people, ‘we are here with you.’”
Founded in 1997, Locks of Love has helped over 1,000 children who have experienced a total loss of scalp hair achieve self esteem and confidence with custom, vacuum-fitted hairpiece, not requiring tape or glue, made entirely from human hair. In fact, over 80 percent of the donors are children.
“That’s the neat thing about Locks of Love,” said All Saints Director of Marketing Kathy Fisher. “The hair comes from children and is given to children.”
According to Locks of Love, the majority of recipients are children suffering from alopecia, an auto-immune condition for which there is no cure. Other recipients have suffered from severe burns, radiation treatment to the brain stem and many other dermatological conditionals resulting in permanent hair loss.
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