Friday, April 27, 2012

Pay It Forward: Commit to Cut

We'll "cut" right to the chase (sorry, we couldn't help it): Today is National Donate Your Hair Day and we are LOVING the way you can pay it forward with hair! We've shared books, websites, and videos  about donating your hair and the difference it can make in another's life, but we couldn't let this day go by without serving up a chance for you to 1) Donate your hair; 2) Commit to cut your hair; 3) Learn more about what wonderful organizations do with donated hair; and/or 4) Celebrate the over 2,400 inches pledged to be donated so far!

We had the honor of learning about the importance of hair donation from a recipient of a wig from a non-profit organization. For (at the time) eight-year-old Emma, her wig was the catalyst for increased self-confidence, self-esteem, courage, happiness, and sheer willingness to engage with the community. These reflections of Emma are captured in the children's book, The Long and the Short of It: A Tale About Hair, published by the American Cancer Society. As we mentioned in a previous post, cutting your hair can transform a person's life. Pay it forward: Cut loose!

If you missed our previous post about The Long and the Short of It, check it out here:

Picture Recently featured on CNN and awarded the GOLD Mom's Choice Award and a BRONZE in the 2011 National Health Information Awards, The Long and the Short of It: A Tale About Hair was chosen because it  unpacks a subject often ignored when young children are losing their hair to cancer treatments. At the heart of it all, this is a story about giving and receiving. "This is the story of two little girls, Isabel and Emma, and their hair, which sometimes was long and sometimes was short and sometimes was not. Isabel wanted to grow her hair long to be just like her cousins. They had long hair that flowed when they danced. But when Isabel's long-haired friend showed up at school one day with very short hair, Isabel discovered a whole new way of thinking about hair - and giving. Emma wanted hair, period. She had lost her hair during cancer treatment. The doctor said it would grow back, but Emma wanted hair now. She did not like bald, she did not like bandanas. What she liked, and wanted more than anything, was hair. Then, out of the blue, almost like magic, she instantly had hair again. And like Isabel, she learned about giving - and giving back."

The discussion guide for parents and teachers is exceptionally handy when discussing many various topics and lifeskills embedded in this book, and the critical thinking guide with which to engage young children can help children explore what it might be like to experience hair loss.

To purchase a copy of the book click HERE

One way this book offers an opportunity for readers to see beautiful is to pay it forward by donating your own hair. Here are some wonderful organizations who receive hair donations to make wigs for children and/or adults:

Childhood Leukemia Foundation
Children with Hair Loss
Locks of Love
Pantene Beautiful Lengths
Wigs 4 Kids
Wigs for Kids

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Getting to Better. Click HERE.  

7 comments:

  1. I didn't realise her could help so many people. I've been growing my hair so I will look into it more now I know! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love getting to know about so many options. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know all about this topic, I always donate my hair. I wrote about it in my post when I chopped 14" of hair! http://www.biculturalmama.com/2011/09/i-chopped-14-of-hair-for-locks-of-love.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Long and Short of It is a fantastic book!  Every child, ages 0 to 100 should read this book!

    ReplyDelete
  5. To bad they cannot use dog hair.  I don't shed much, but over time there is a fair amount.  
    Blessings,
    Goose

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've donated my hair four times now!  Well, three times, and I've been meaning to mail a chopped off ponytail for about two months now... so in honor of National Donate Your Hair Day, I will FINALLY get around to putting that in the mail!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Once again such a great post! I've been actually thinking about growing my hair to be able to cut it off for cancer. Cancer has affected my father and my wife's sister and both of her parents. I think I can do more for the cause!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts & helping others see beautiful too!