Little girl with long hair has big heart
Published: May 29, 2008
Emma Benavides wanted to help people who lost their hair due to cancer treatments. This is not unusual according to the Locks of Love Web site, which states that it is an estimated 80 percent of all donations come from children who wish to help other children.
Emma, age 5, is the daughter of Robert and Krista Benavides and granddaughter of Tom and Sandra Duffee, all of Kingwood.
Emma’s grandmother, Joan Hart, of Corpus Christi, was diagnosed with stage 3-B lung cancer in July 2007. While Hart was in Houston undergoing cancer treatments, the family explained to Emma that some cancer treatments cause people to lose their hair. The Benavides family learned about Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization, from an information packet supplied by M.D. Anderson Hospital.
Emma wanted to help. Emma’s hair at the time had never been cut and hung well below her waist. Emma’s mother and grandmother made plans to schedule Emma’s very first haircut on her fifth birthday in early April. She wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love in honor of her grandmother.
Hart did not live to see her little granddaughter make her donation; Hart passed away March 30, 2008. Twelve inches of Emma’s hair was cut on April 8. The salon did not charge for the haircut after learning of Emma’s plans.
On May 6, Emma’s mother also cut and donated her hair to Locks of Love in memory of her mother.
“When you hear about these organizations, at the time you think, oh, what a great cause, but you generally don’t do anything about it until it affects you personally,” said Benavides.
The Locks of Love Web site explains how anyone can make a donation for this worthy cause. For example, donated hair cannot be bleached and must be a minimum of 10 inches in length. Donations from people of all races, all ages, male and female, are needed.
People can donate simply by informing their hair stylist that they want to donate to Locks of Love. The stylist will separate the hair into ponytails, cut it, and give it back to be mailed by the donor to Locks of Love.
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