Mother, daughter donate to Locks of Love
Published: March 7, 2007
Last week, Mrs. Sherwood and her daughter Rachel, 7, donated their hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that collects hair donations for children.
The mother and daughter went to En Vogue salon on Bank Street for the donation cut.
Mrs. Sherwood, an administrative assistant at Boeringer-Ingleheim and a former hairdresser, has donated her locks before, but not with her daughter. She thought it would be something they could do together to help others.
“My daughter and I have always had long hair, and I wanted to have her do something that would teach her to help others in need,” Mrs. Sherwood said. “She learns things in Brownies, about helping others, and so she was pretty excited about this-nervous, but excited.”
At En Vogue, stylists Carol Schoeller and Jennifer Scanlon-Mullen cut the pair’s hair.
“She was happy with the haircut afterwards. Everyone told her it looked really nice,” Mrs. Sherwood added. “So maybe we can continue to do this together. It’ll take about a year before it’s long enough again to donate it, and I have a friend that wants to do it too.”
Rachel, a first-grader at Hill & Plain School, celebrates her birthday today. She and her mother chose En Vogue for the haircut for Locks of Love because Mrs. Sherwood previously worked with several of the stylists there.
“I asked them if they could do it and they said OK,” she said.
Locks of Love is a public nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. It meets a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses the organization provides help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.
According to its Web site, when Locks of Love began it was connected with a for-profit wig retailer. In December 1997, the organization obtained its 501(c)(3) certification from the IRS. With the installation of a volunteer Board of Directors, the charity began operating as an entity unto itself under its bylaws and separated from the for-profit retailer. This initiative was spearheaded by Madonna Coffman, a retired cardiac nurse who had a great deal of volunteer experience working for not-for-profits in the surrounding Palm Beach area.
When Mrs. Coffman was in her 20s she developed alopecia after receiving a hepatitis vaccination. With medications, she recovered. But15 years later, her 4-year old daughter developed alopecia and lost all of her hair. The loss was difficult for both mother and daughter, and it was at this time that she quit all other charity work and took on Locks of Love as a full time volunteer cheered on by her daughter’s recovery as her inspiration.
After finally securing donated office space from a local hospital and locating a manufacturer of the highest quality prosthetics, Locks of Love was underway. Since the beginning, the charity has received a great deal of support by both the media and its volunteers throughout the country. Locks of Love has been featured or mentioned on television shows such as “The Today Show,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Oprah,” “20/20,” “The View,” and others, and in national publications including USA Today, The New York Times, People, Seventeen, Glamour, CosmoGirl, Self, Redbook, Woman’s Day, ElleGirl, Child Magazine and Ladies Home Journal.
The number of hairpieces produced has increased significantly since its inception, from 21 the first year to over 2,000. Locks of Love has recipients in all 50 states and Canada and is working towards its goal to help every financially disadvantaged child suffering from long-term hair loss.
Hair donations must be no less than 10 inches in length and must be natural, clean and dry. Hair from men and women, young and old of all colors and races are needed.
Mrs. Sherwood hopes more people will consider donating their hair to Locks of Love.
“I noticed they had a nice bulletin board at Hill & Plain School and maybe if they put [Rachel and my story] up there, it will inspire other people to do it,” she said. “I think when people see it, it makes them think about how lucky they are. Maybe they’ll want to help.”
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