Calgary girl performs act of loving kindness
Published: July 5, 2006
An 11-year-old Calgary girl has cut off her long golden locks and donated them to Angel Hair For Kids, which will help transform her snipped-off hair into wigs for children who need them.
Cassandra Macdonald, who this year graduated from middle school at the Calgary Hebrew Academy and will enter Grade 7 in the fall, cut her hair in front of close friends and family members at Calgary’s Temple B’Nai Tikvah, on June 23.
She made the decision to cut about 13 inches of hair following Passover this year, her mother, Sharon Polsky, said.
“She said, ‘Mom, I need to talk to you. I’ve decided I want to cut my hair.’ It was her choice completely,” said Polsky, who agreed to make the arrangements.
Polsky initially contacted the American organization Locks of Love, which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair. She was seeking information on a possible Canadian affiliate organization.
When they were unable to help, Polsky contacted the Canadian Cancer Society, who agreed to send Cassandra’s hair to be made into a wig, but “they weren’t really clear as to where it would go.” They couldn’t tell her if the wig would go to a child, she said.
Polsky learned of the Mississauga-based Angel Hair For Kids through an Internet search, and she contacted founder and executive director, Roslyn Yearwood.
“I did a lot of digging,” Polsky said. “Once we found out what this place was, I found out a little more about it and was satisfied,” she said. “It is a Canadian organization. The hair will be made into wigs for children in Canada from low-income families, at no cost to them. It sounded right.”
Children who receive the wigs may have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy treatments, radiation, burn accidents, alopecia or for other medical reasons.
The two-year-old program is run by A Child’s Voice Foundation, a registered charitable organization whose mandate is to create and manage programs that provide tangible help for sick and underprivileged children and their families. To date, it has sent six wigs to Calgary, where it has two branches.
It takes between 10 and 12 ponytails to create one wig.
The organization also raises funds to pay for having the wigs made. Polsky said Cassandra raised more than $4,000 before cutting her hair, and people have been very supportive of the cause.
“We’re all amazed at people’s generosity. She just mentions what she does and people are literally putting their hands in their pockets and saying, ‘Here, take this,’” she said. “They don’t want a tax receipt. They don’t want anything. It’s amazing.”
Human hair wigs retail at between $1,500 and $3,000.
Polsky said Cassandra, whose hair is now arm-pit length, cut her hair after learning about tzedakah at school.
She said Cassandra wants to continue to grow her hair long until she graduates from junior high school. Then she’ll again cut her hair for Angel Hair for Kids.
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