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Featured Non-Profit: Locks of Love

Good Causes >

After the big cut!

In the spirit of giving this holiday season I challenge you to find a gift in which you don’t receive anything in return (except maybe a warm fuzzy feeling inside). Think of a way you can volunteer your time at a soup kitchen, wrap presents for homeless kids, donate your old towels to an animal shelter. It can be easy to give BIG to an organization with little effort from you.

This year one of my big gives was 10 inches of my hair. It may seem like a lot (an believe me, it took me years to build up the courage to do it), but really, it’s just hair and it grows back.

There is an organization called Locks of Love. They are “a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.” By taking donated hair, they create hair prosthetics which helps to restore the kid’s “self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.” As if battling a life threatening disease isn’t hard enough, kids have to still face their peers and explain why they look different. Locks of Love gives them an opportunity to feel better inside and out.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beQkUstpcgY]

Here are some facts that I didn’t realize until I was cutting the 10 inches off:

  • You can get your hair cut at ANY salon, you just mail the (dry and rubber-banded) pony tail to their Florida address
  • The minimum donation of hair is 10 inches, but the good news is that your longest layer counts!
  • They accept grey hair, colored hair and even permed hair, just not bleached or dreadlocks
  • It takes 6-10 ponytails to make ONE head piece
  • The retail cost of the hairpieces is between $3,500 and $6,000
  • Read more on their FAQ page!

My friend cutting her hair a week later.

It makes giving 10 inches a lot easier when you realize how fortunate you are to continue growing your own hair, as you’re not battling a deadly disease. Join the other donors, it is a BIG give to the kids and the cut only take a minute! Plus, you might inspire someone else to do it, too!

How are you giving back this holiday?