I have never seen Kelsi so excited to get a haircut. She was up early on a Saturday morning, prepped and ready to go before I had my first cup of coffee. The anticipation of a cut and color was great, but that was not the reason for her excitement. She was going short and donating her hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.
Beautiful Lengths is a partnership between Pantene and the American Cancer Society, the largest nonprofit health organization committed to saving lives from every cancer and improving the quality of life for people facing the disease. The role of Pantene is to help women grow long, strong, beautiful hair and provide the funds to turn this hair into free, real-hair wigs for women with cancer. Since its beginning in 2006, Pantene has donated 24,000 free real-hair wigs to the American Cancer Society’s wig banks, which distribute wigs to cancer patients across the country. In all, women have donated well over 400,000 ponytails across the globe. Last week, Kelsi joined that group of women.
In the end, eleven inches of hair were removed from her head. Knowing that her hair will benefit cancer patients around the country is awesome. I am extremely proud of her desire to impact others. She walked through the door after her appointment with a big smile and short, brown hair. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was my daughter (moving from blond to brunette messed this old man up). She looked beautiful as always and I could see the joy of the donation in her face. As a family, we have talked about hair donations for a few years. Unfortunately, I am not a candidate for this particular giving activity. My hair continues to fall out every day. If I cut my hair and donated it I might be able to help a prepubescent teen have a terrible peach-fuzz mustache.
Most mornings, people around the world struggle to make their hair look fabulous. They wake up with bed head, complain about their cowlick, and work persistently to sculpt the perfect masterpiece. While this happens, those with cancer face the challenges of hair loss and the insecurities that come with it. They would give anything to have a bad hair day. To us, it is just hair. To others, it is so much more. If you have it to give, give. When you donate your hair you can bring hope to someone who needs it.
impact52.org 