Published on August 12, 2011
Haircuts for Hope
Donating locks to help others
It’s never an easy thing for hair stylists to do -- shaving the head of a client whose hair is falling out in clumps as a result of chemotherapy. It can be a difficult day in the cancer journey.
“Your hair is an extension of your personality. It reflects how you feel about yourself,” says Lee Gonzales, a stylist at Rave Salon, Davenport.
Anna Forari, 10, of Bettendorf has
her long hair cut by Lee Gonzales of
Rave Salon during last week’s Haircuts
for Hope event at the Genesis Cancer
Care Institute.Recently, Gonzales and fellow Rave stylists Amanda O’Leary and Nikki Nguyen took part in a far more uplifting task. They cut the 8-inch long ponytails of people who donated their hair for cancer patients at the fourth annual Haircuts for Hope.
The event was sponsored by the Genesis Cancer Care Institute. The donations -- 45 ponytails and at least 360 inches of hair -- will provide real-hair wigs to women across the nation who have lost their hair during cancer treatment. It’s part of Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths campaign.
Twice before, Kaylin McNeal, 11, of Bettendorf, has donated her hair to “Locks of Love,” a similar initiative for children. “When my hair gets so long, I like to cut it and donate it to people who really, really need it.”
April Johnson of Bettendorf came to the Genesis Cancer Care Institute with similar feelings of generosity: “I’ve always wanted to donate my hair. I’ve been growing it out for three years, and thought it was a good opportunity to get it cut for this cause.”
There was a husband and wife, who each donated a ponytail of hair.
There were 9-year-old Chandra Duyvejonck and her 6-year-old sister, Kylie, of Davenport, who came to offer up their pretty locks -- only to learn their ponytails were a hair too short.
“I donated last year, and I like to help people with cancer,” says Chandra, whose hair was about 2 inches shy of the 8-inch length requirement.
Like many viewers in the Quad Cities, Ruth Petersen has watched the cancer journey of KWQC-TV personality Paula Sands, who is undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer. She has seen Sands wearing an array of wigs on “Paula Sands Live!” and has come to realize how a nice wig can lift a cancer patients’ spirits.
“I’ve been watching Paula Sands and keeping updated on her health. I thought if she needed my hair, she can have it,” says Petersen of Davenport. “I’ve done this twice before. I save up my hair the entire year, and then get it cut. It makes me feel wonderful.”
Rave Salon stylists O’Leary, Gonzales and Nguyen gladly volunteered their time for the daylong event.
“I’ve had clients with cancer who’ve asked me to shave their head or cut their wig for them and make it how they want it. I always do that for free,” Nguyen says. “It hurts to hear of someone going through that.”
O’Leary concludes, “I think any of us would be happy to do such a service for free. Someone who is sick, losing their hair and feeling down deserves some pampering. Haircuts for Hope is a good cause.”
