Meghan Kirk
The Communicator
On February 12 Locks of Love and Hats off for Cancer took donations in the SUB lounges. According to the LOL website, anyone could donate, but it has to be at least 10in of hair and any used but unwanted hats can be donated for Hats off for Cancer. Both organizations help children with this disease make losing their hair through various treatments a little more bearable. Heading up the drive is Heather McKenzie and Elodie Goodman.
The drive started twelve years ago at SFCC, with McKenzie joining 9 years ago and Goodman about 7. Zen Hair Studios partnered with McKenzie, Goodman and Locks of Love about five years ago to do the hair cutting for the event. All are volunteers and in the past Grand Salon gave free fixes if you donated your hair.
Goodman said she started to volunteer with the program through SFCC after a friends child was diagnosed with cancer, and she has been participating ever since. One participant, Cadence Paluch, a bright-eyed 8 year old, said she “wanted to donate to help make wigs for [kids with] can
cer.” She found out about the program through some friends and it took her two years to grow out her hair.
According to their website, Locks of Love was started in 1997 headed by Madonna Coffman. Coffman lost her hair due to medications she was taking for alopecia, and fifteen years later her daughter, then four, began to suffer from alopecia as well, and it was a lot more difficult to watch her daughter go through what she went through. Coffman was participating in other charity work but then decided to participate in Locks of Love full time.
Hats off for Cancer has been having running a hat/cap drive, for the past two years at SFCC. After donating a hat or at least ten inches of hair, participants received gift bags and food.
According to the Hats off For Cancer website, it was created by Tara Lawrence after losing her grandfather to prostate cancer in 1992. The non-profit was started in 1996 after Lawrence volunteered with the American Cancer Society. While volunteering she got to meet numerous kids who agreed that they did not like losing their hair as a side effect to treatments.