Little Tanya « Toddler Planet

Posted by: whymommy | April 3, 2008

Little Tanya

Little Tanya and her Mommy did something amazing. They cut off their hair a few weeks ago and donated it all to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love makes wigs for little children who lose their hair due to chemotherapy or diseases like alopecia areata; they use only real hair, so the kids don’t feel so “different” from their friends. It’s fast and easy to donate hair; just put your long hair in a ponytail, have it cut off at any hairdresser, and send the ponytail (10 inches or more) to Locks of Love and they’ll take care of the rest. And by the rest, I mean sewing it into a realistic-looking wig, cutting it and styling it for a little kid’s haircut, and sending it to children who need it.

Who really need it.

Which makes what Little Tanya and her Mommy did all the more beautiful.

Three cheers for Tanya, who donated 19 inches of hair, and for her Mommy, who donated 15 inches of her own! This was Mommy’s first major haircut since University, and Tanya? I think it was her very first haircut ever. When I heard on Twitter this morning that we were about to celebrate Good People Day, little Tanya and her Mommy were the first who came to mind.

Update: Hats off (as it were) also to Janet Kinkaid of The Chronicles of Tewkesbury who ran a contest on her blog last December; she and another blogger, Debi Cates, raised $200, $5 per participant, and donated it this week to Sue Thompson of Headhuggers, at my suggestion. Janet writes all about it on her blog today; the story is a great read and an inspiring one. Thanks for checking in, Janet — this is an awesome update, and I’m so happy to hear about it today — Good People Day!

Categories:

Tags: Good People Day 2008, gpd08, Locks of Love

Responses

This is such a wonderful story. Kudos to you and the team for your courage and perseverance. I recently lost my uncle to cancer, and a group like this would have been a godsend at that time.

http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com

By: damyantig on April 3, 2008
at 11:08 pm

My daughter is currently growing her hair out to do this - I think it’s an awesome thing!

By: Bubba's Sis on April 4, 2008
at 12:09 am

I donated about 14 inches a couple of years ago. The good deed made the ensuing bad haircut easier to take.

By: Stimey on April 4, 2008
at 12:42 am

what a sweet little girl!!!!

By: Just a mom on April 4, 2008
at 1:59 am

I just posted, recently, about how my hair is the longest it’s ever been. I don’t think it’s long enough to donate, but I’m going to keep growing it to donate. It’s not virgin, though. I wonder if they’d still accept it.

By: kylydia on April 4, 2008
at 4:19 am

Hon - you have to give me to lowdown on this:

The other week I rang a wig company that pays for donated hair and then you go donate it to cancer charity (that’s the only way you can do it down here apparently). I had 10 inches, but once I told them my hair was dyed, they said no-thanks. Cant take it. Is that the same over there? I was really disappointed.

Mind, I hate my hair so much at the moment I’m thinking of shaving it for charity anyway.

By: Karen (Misc Mum) on April 4, 2008
at 5:29 am

Colored or permed hair is OK if it isn’t too heavily damaged. Bleached hair cannot be used.

http://www.locksoflove.org/ has all the specs and the form to complete. You MAIL your hair in - I’m not sure where you are Karen, but you might still be able to contribute. Go to the web site and read up - all the ‘rules’ are there.

By: Susan K on April 4, 2008
at 7:25 am

You know what? I need to do this. When I lost all my hair to alopecia areata four years ago, it was dreadful. I used to balance my sadness against what it must be like to be a child or teenage girl with that disease.

Since I’m pregnant and the vitamins make my hair thick and lusterous, now would be the time to start growing it out.

Thank you, Susan. I should have thought of this on my own. But leave it to you to remind me to do good.

By: Mrs. Chicken on April 4, 2008
at 9:27 am

I’ve donated four times to Locks of Love now. My nieces (now 7 and are doing the same. I figure I’ll keep doing it as long as I have hair that’s healthy and thick. I’m a strong supporter of the organization.

For many of us, hair is a renewable resource; for children in whom it’s not, it makes a world of difference.

By: Kristin on April 4, 2008
at 11:07 am

(That was an 8 with a close parenthesis, not an emoticon. Sorry about that.)

By: Kristin on April 4, 2008
at 11:08 am

Oh and yes Susan, it was Tanya’s first haircut ever (in a salon, I’d trimmed it once). She was all excited until she got there and then nerves set in. The ladies in the shop were GREAT and I went first and then she was totally cool with it.

By: Susan K on April 4, 2008
at 11:47 am

I wish I had the patience to let my hair grow long enough to donate to charity. I’m really glad there are others who can and will do this.

By: Becky on April 4, 2008
at 12:14 pm

If you can’t donate your hair for whatever reasons, you can still perhaps sell your hair & make a cash donation.
Some folks down hear in Tennessee love to use good longer hair for doll wigs, they don’t pay a ton but its better than throwing it away, i’ve got their e-mail someplace! J

By: jackie on April 4, 2008
at 1:02 pm

Oh, and there is another organization (whose name I don’t know, but a friend told me about it) who accepts only 8 inches of donated hair. So if you can’t do 10, maybe 8?

Just remember, that is the length CUT - so make a LOW pony tail (like base of neck) and measure from above the elastic to the tip - you need to be sure to leave enough hair for your stylist to work with! Tanya’s final cut is actually quite long (brushes shoulders).

By: Susan K on April 4, 2008
at 1:30 pm

That low ponytail thing is a great point — when I did this years ago, it was difficult to find information; salons used to participate and give free haircuts for donors, but they had stopped and I felt a bit adrift for information. The Locks of Love website now has a ton of good information — and great pics of the kids that are helped too!

By: whymommy on April 4, 2008
at 9:19 pm

Hey, Susan. As an Alopecia Areata sufferer, I thank you for mentioning this. It’s not life threatening, it’s only self-esteem threatening. Especially for children.

I’m having an outbreak now that is the worst one since I lost all of my hair about 10 years ago. I find myself turning to make sure the wind doesn’t blow my hair up to reveal the completely bald spots on the sides of my head - and I’m 45. I can only imagine what this does to young girls.

By: Ree on April 4, 2008
at 9:29 pm

Great comment, Ree. I had never heard of this before Mrs. C mentioned it last year … although now I think a childhood friend had it. I assumed it was cancer, but never talked to her about it, because I didn’t know how. I regret that now. I regret that a lot.

BTW, Debi’s site can be reached at http://2thingsphotochallenge.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-needs-tree-hugger-when-you-can-have.html — WordPress is doing funny things today, so no post tonight.

By: whymommy on April 4, 2008
at 11:06 pm

Aw, she looks so cute and so happy. I donated 10 inches of my hair about five years ago.

By: Damselfly on April 4, 2008
at 11:12 pm

Hey all you men out there! Locks of Love also takes donations of men’s hair! My girlfriend was diagnosed with breast cancer and my husband cut off his hair and donated it to Locks of Love. The salon where he got it cut off at didn’t even charge him for the buzz-cut that followed the scissor treatment. Any person looking to cut off a substantial amount of their hair should consider this great organization.

By: ruthie on April 4, 2008
at 11:53 pm

My 7 year old did this last summer. She heard about it on her own from a classmate at school and insisted on doing it. It’s such a great thing - both for the donors and the recipients!

By: K on April 5, 2008
at 7:59 pm

Hey S - well, I’m down here in Aus (I should’ve said that orginally!) so I checked locks of love and there’s no link to anything down here, so maybe that I was told still stands, bummer.

Take care xx

By: Karen (miscmum) on April 6, 2008
at 12:28 am

Susan:

It was such a pleasure to meet Sue Thompson of Head Huggers and present her with a check. She’s a lovely, vivacious woman and I’m glad you pointed us in her direction! And thank you for the shout-out on your blog.

Warmest wishes for your continued recovery,

Janet

By: Janet Kincaid on April 6, 2008
at 2:39 am