Monroe-Woodbury students cut back - 295 inches worth

CENTRAL VALLEY-On June 6, you could almost be sure to hear "I love your haircut!" floating around the halls of Monroe-Woodbury High School. Why? More than 30 students donated more than 24 feet of hair to the Locks of Love foundation during a Drama Club-sponsored hair drive at the school. The Locks of Love foundation collects hair donations in order to make wigs for underprivileged children with severe medical hair loss. Some recipients suffer from cancer and have lost their hair to chemotherapy; others have a disease called alopecia areata, which causes a person's own immune cells to attack and disrupt hair growth. To be used in a wig, a hair donation must be at least ten-inches long and must have never been chemically damaged or bleached. Hair that has been chemically damaged or is not long enough can also be donated, provided it is a minimum of six inches. These hair donations will be sold through Locks of Love at fair market value, the profits of which will be used to offset the cost of manufacturing. Initially, the Drama Club expected only a handful of students to participate. But as word got out, and students saw what was happening, more and more signed up. By the end of the day, the drive collected 295 inches of hair for Locks of Love. "Everyone has been touched by cancer or disease," said Rosemary Sussman, one of the stylists who donated her time. "I think that is why so many came out to donate." Sussman, owner of Great Lines in Middletown, and Sandy Ricciardi of Amy's LA in Monroe cut and styles more than 30 heads of hair over the course of five hours. Both are a part of the "Look Good Feel Better" program, in which stylists help those suffering from disease to look and feel their very best. The drive was so successful that some students were asked to wait until next year; the Drama Club now plans to make this an annual event. (Hair donations can be made at any time of the year. More information can be found at www.locksoflove.org.) "It is good to know," Ricciardi said at the end of a very long day, "that there is a youth that still cares and wants to make a difference." This report was written by Katie Mulholland, president of the Monroe-Woodbury High School Drama Club.