Today, most people who go to the salon to get a haircut are there for reasons of vanity, but for some people it’s all about giving back. A national program named Locks of Love (LOL), allows people of all ages to snip away their hair to give children who suffer from hair loss self-confidence and pride while battling through multifarious diseases and disorders.
For senior Ricky Lara, he made this donation a reality when he went through with LOL in March. Though it only took a matter of seconds to cut 10 inches of his long hair, it took a long while to prepare.
I’d say it took about 2 ½ years to grow my hair out,” Lara said. “I started in September 2008 and I cut it this March.“
Lara decided he wanted to partake in the program when his local hair stylist mentioned it to him over an ordinary haircut, but behind Lara’s hair cut was much more inspiration.
“I did this because my god mother has breast cancer and she has lost all of her hair from her treatments, and I felt like I needed to give back in any way I could,” Lara said. “So I looked through different places and found Locks of Love. Even though it doesn’t go specifically to people with breast cancer it is still given to a good cause.”
Career Tech teacher Morgan Messick also took part in Locks of Love for her family.
“It seemed like a good, fun beneficial idea so I decided I wanted to do it,” Messick said. “There are lots of people in my family that have or had cancer, so I thought this would be good to give back to them.”
After donating their hair for Locks of Love, many participants had a feeling of achievement.
“I felt accomplished because all the doubters didn’t believe I would do it,” Lara said. “I was also kind of sad because I missed my long hair, but overall I felt good because it was for a good cause.”
The people who are timid about going through with LOL should understand that the donation is for a great purpose and that their hair always grows back.
“You’re going to miss your hair, but you’re going to feel good after you do it because you’re helping someone else out,” Lara said.
Persons interested in participating in the Locks of Love program should check with any of the local hair salons.
