By RACHEL KALINA
Mevorach, an eight-year-old from Malverne, donated ten inches of her hair to the charity Locks of Love last month. Locks of Love prepares wigs for children with long-term medical hair loss from diseases like cancer or alopecia areata.
³I knew it was going to some who really needed it,² Samantha said. The thought helped her get over the anticipation of cutting off all that hair. She also kept in mind the time she had helped to raise funds for a girl at her own school who had leukemia.
Her mother, Cindy, gave her the inspiration to go under the scissors. Samantha¹s deed has already motivated one of her cousins to donate her hair.
³This charity is truly a children helping children charity,² said Lauren Kukkamaa, Locks of Love¹s Communications Director. ³Eighty percent of our donors are children. One child is affected in some way, either through knowing a family member or seeing a kid with no hair, and wanting to help. It¹s such a different way of giving that they want to do it, so it just spreads like wildfire.²
Locks of Love requires that hair be clean, dry, at least 10 inches in length, and in a ponytail or braid in a Ziploc bag when it is sent to the organization via mail. It may be colored or permed, although not bleached. Hair cut in past years is still usable if it has been stored in a ponytail or braid. While some salons collect the hair, Samantha had to mail her freshly cut and banded ponytail herself.
³They have to put an elastic band at the base of your hair,² explained Samantha, who got nervous when she thought her stylist was planning to cut more than she would appreciate. She soon relaxed, however, knowing it was for a good cause and realizing the band was just for measurement purposes.
³I was very proud of her for doing it,² Cindy set, ³It was a big deal.² She added she was happy Samantha came to the decision on her own.
³Locks of Love does this to boost that confidence level of a child with hair loss,² Kukkamaa said, ³Going through elementary, middle and high school is hard enough, let alone not having hair or participating in normal activities. We try to bring that back.²
Children can participate in activities like swimming or sports with these prosthetics, Kukkamaa said, as they normally would. If Locks of Love can¹t make a wig out of the donated hair, they will sell it and use the monetary proceeds instead. Eventually, the Mevorachs will get a letter confirming that Samantha¹s hair has been used.
³I think other children should do it because it probably won¹t take as long to grow back,² Samantha. Mom said she figures by January, she can follow in her daughter¹s smaller-but-confident footsteps.
Photos courtesy Mevorach family
Comments about this story? RKalina@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
