Thursday, September 9, 2010

Locks of Love


I got a haircut today.  So this hair is now headed to Locks of Love, an organization whose purpose is as follows:

Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

If you're thinking about donating hair, it needs to be at least 10 inches long.  Granted, this will take many months to grow out.  But here's a photo gallery of some recipients (Locks of Love doesn't allow these photos to be reproduced elsewhere) to keep you motivated in the meantime.  

Several ponytails are required to make a child's hairpiece.  Normally, these hairpieces will retail for $3500-$6000, so you can see how financially daunting this would be for most families, without some help.  Locks of Love accepts financial contributions, too.   

So.  Giving makes me feel good; having hair makes a child feel strong and confident.  Pretty much a win-win situation, wouldn't you say?     

(Oh, and most of their donations come from other children.  Just something to think about regarding your kids/grandkids, too.) 


(Because they asked me to.)

24 comments:

David Cranmer said...

What a great thing to do.

Travis Erwin said...

Do they take goatee hair?

Charles Gramlich said...

Lana does this about once a year.

Grimmgirl said...

One of my friends is getting ready to do this, too! Where is the picture of YOU -10 inches of hair!

Sarah Hina said...

David, it's a very cool organization.


Travis, if you've got ten inches to spare (that sounds so wrong.)


Charles, wow! Lana's awesome.


Hayley, aw, I wanted to spare you guys my mug. ;)

(It was great seeing David again yesterday? But when do I get to see you??)

S. Susan Deborah said...

What a thoughtful gesture! So much to learn from you, Sarah. Now that you have cut your hair, it is time to replace your picture!!

Joy always,
Susan

joaquin carvel said...

wow. that is awesome.

i wonder if willy nelson donated his braids after he cut them off. probably not. not a lot of kids lining up for silver hair i bet.

anyway - very cool. i've been looking into platlet donation lately - this might just be the last push i need.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Beautiful way to extend love and care. Kudos!

Karen said...

What a wonderful gift, Sarah! I'd love to see your picture with your newly trimmed tresses.

Anonymous said...

I found your blog while blog-hopping and this post did catch my eyes...

... what a nice gift...

Just about to 'follow' you :)

Sarah Hina said...

Susan Deborah, thank you! You know, I might replace that pic sometime soon. :)


Joaquin, they do actually accept grey hair! It's "sold to offset the manufacturing costs." Whatever that means. But really, Willie could have sold his braids on ebay and made a mint for charity that way. :)

I've been looking into bone marrow donation. Maybe we both need a push still.


Kay, thanks for the kind words!


Karen, I put one up on Facebook, just for you. :) (I think I look like a cross between Nancy Drew and a weather girl now! But y'know...it'll grow.)


Reenie, I appreciate your wandering in and I'm very happy for the follow.

Thank you!

jaz said...

What a lovely post to find this morning as I return to reading blogs! This is, from what I know of you, a very Sarah thing to do and it is both touching and inspiring.

I hope you are well!

Jennifer

Sarah Hina said...

Hi Jennifer!

In truth, I probably don't do this sort of thing as often as I should. But...baby steps.

I'm doing pretty well. Trying to step back from the internet a little to focus on other things, and I'm VERY happy that both our kids are in school full-time now. (Was it wrong of me to capitalize VERY? Oh, hell. ;))

I hope you're doing well, too! And that your novel is (almost?) done. :)

jaz said...

Hi again,

My daughter and I were just looking at the picture with this post-- this morning totally out of the blue she announced that she wanted to do Locks of Love (I'm thinking someone at school must have done it--and her hair is super long already) and I said, okay, someone I know JUST did this, come and look! She thought it was "awesome." I'm not on facebook but I'd love to see a picture of you!

That first day when I put all of my kids on the bus I had the normal sadness and then, I must confess, a little skip in my step as I went back up the driveway. :)

My novel is 320 pages filled with orange sticky notes, which I am slowly working through. I promised to let two people read it in October and now I don't know what I was thinking!

How is everything going? Plum Blossoms? The next novel? Your newfound freedom?? :)

Take care!

catvibe said...

Wonderful. And where are the pictures of you my dear? =(:-)<—<

Sarah Hina said...

Jennifer, sorry it took me so long to respond! My computer has been having major issues. It's still having some issues, but is at least allowing me to type this without freezing up. (ETA: mostly.)

I'm so happy your daughter's doing Locks of Love! What a wonderful gesture on her part. I'd love for our daughter to get to that point, too, but she has a loooong way to go.

(I did add that pic to the post, since you asked and all. :) It's a webcam pic, so...yeah.)

Woo-hoo! Okay, so I kind of wish I were one of those two people who get to read your novel in October. But, um...I'll settle for November? Or just in time for Christmas, maybe? :)

No, but seriously, I'm really happy it's almost there. I know this part is painful, and that you're probably dying to be done, but don't rush it. I've actually heard many people say it's a good idea to step away from a just completed novel for several weeks (or months, even) after finishing, so that you can cast a fresh eye on it and make changes before querying. But I probably wouldn't be capable of being that patient. So don't listen to me. :)

Let me know how it's coming along, though, in the next few weeks! I'm excited for you!!


Cat, just added! Ain't peer pressure grand? :)

jaz said...

Okay, first of all, your hair is So Cute. I love it! And second of all, it must have been so incredibly long to start with to have that much left! Now I'll have to show my daughter the second picture--her only trepidation was the idea of ending up with a chin length bob, but her hair is long enough that I think it would look more like yours.

Re: the novel, I didn't look at it all summer. Crazy, I know. Actually, I didn't write a thing all summer. Is it normal to seriously not remember parts of your own novel?? Because there are some passages, particularly at the beginning (which I would have written a year ago) that I cannot recall writing. Clearly, I'm losing my mind. :)

If you ever truly have time, to get myself warmed up, I expanded the flash piece from Jason's contest into a 5000 worder. I can't tell if it's okay or ridiculous--you know, if maybe it was a story that didn't need to be fleshed out further. But I know you're busy, so no pressure. For real.

Hope you're computer problems are better soon! Oh, I'm 3/4 of the way through Freedom. Amazing. So worth the wait. I feel like his writing is like those pictures where no matter where you stand, the person in them is looking at you. No matter who you are, I feel as though there must be some of your truth written into this book.

Take care!

Sarah Hina said...

Yeah, my hair actually doesn't look that long anymore. It was still in the flat-ironed, post-salon, somewhat styled phase there. Now it's in the unkempt mom, just-tie-it-back with a ponytail holder and forget about it phase. :)

Hey, that's probably a good thing that you didn't look at your novel for that long! You have a fresh perspective on it now, and can be more objective. I've been hopping around on novel ideas so much lately, that I'm just impressed you're nearly done with one. I seem to be addicted to beginnings.

I'd LOVE to read your story! I'm not just saying that out of kindness, either. I've been bugging you too much, and for too long a time, to be anything but sincere. :) Please send it my way if you're still willing.

Yeah, Freedom is one of those novels that leaves me in awe and despair. I try really hard not to compare my writing with others' now, but...

Yeah.

Margaret said...

Sarah, you're a 'giver' so it doesn't surprise me to read about you giving your hair away.

It's a wonderful gesture to help kids in need.

And you still look beautiful with shorter hair. :)

jaz said...

I totally know what you mean about Franzen. It's hard not to read as a writer, you know, so I bounce back and forth between being completely caught up in the narrative and then thinking oh my God, how he did "x" or "y" or "z" is impossibly brilliant.

I still feel there's a chance that you are being just being nice :) but I really trust your opinion so I'm going to risk being a pain and send you the story. Thank you in advance!! I would love to return the favor, and not just because I am anxious to read whatever you're writing.

Karen said...

I love the shorn locks (the ones still on your head)! You look the sophisticated, successful author of a literary romance!

Ellen said...

Bravo Sarah! I had extremely long hair at one time, I was pleased to donate it - I wasn't going to need it, yet someone else did!

Thanks for sharing.

Ellen
skype ellen_thorp

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