"Cuts for a Cause"

Celine K. gave 10 inches of her hair!

On Monday, March 11th, Fairmont Private Schools hosted a school-wide event in its multi-purpose room. While this is usually not newsworthy, what they did in the multi-purpose room definitely was. Fairmont students, in conjunction with Tustin-based "Cartel Salon," graciously donating their hair for "Locks of Love."

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. The organization's goal 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."

At the school-wide event, ten volunteer students and five parents and teachers from the Anaheim Hills Campus went on stage in front of their classmates while a Cartel Salon cosmetologist cut at least 10 inches of their hair. Students received an educational lesson about why the wigs are made, who could donate hair, the donation requirements, watched a clip of the television show "How it's Made" regarding wig-making, and were able to ask questions about the process to the team of stylists.  Before the cutting began, each participant had a chance to tell the school why they made the choice to cut their hair.  

"My daughter and I are doing this for our close friend, who is currently fighting breast cancer." says Ashley Westlund, the school's secretary whose daughter participated in the event as well.  The responses from each participant didn't leave a dry eye in the house.  At the end of the presentation, an assembly line of students had their hair cut off one by one as the crowd cheered.  Each girl waved their pony tails in the air to celebrate their contribution.

Heather Lopez, a second grade teacher at the Anaheim Hills Campus and the event's organizer, described the importance of the event: "It is important that students engage in volunteer activities aimed at accomplishing a greater good to help students realize how fortunate they are, to help others when they can, and instill a sense of community-involvement and responsibility."  She has a personal connection to the cause as she has several family members as well as friends currently battling different forms of cancer.

The Cartel Salon graciously donated its time and services to co-host this event because the values of the "Locks of Love" program also hit home to the Salon's owner and stylists. "In this day and age, it's tough to find anyone who isn't affected by cancer in some way. Whether it's our own co-workers, relatives or friends, everybody knows somebody," said Ray Adame, Cartel's owner.  "From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life," said Amanda Lorraine a stylist at the Cartel Salon.

Lopez also hopes to encourage a sense of stewardship. "I think kids can fall into the trap of thinking that something is too big for them to effectuate change. That's not the mistake I want my generation of students making. Every little bit helps and by donating their hair to Locks of Love the students are able to see and feel their contribution in a very real way. A piece of them will literally be helping another child," said Lopez.

Fairmont Head of School Michelle Lowe summarizes, "We are so proud of these young ladies for giving of themselves to better the lives of others. This exemplifies the values Fairmont strives to instill in our students."

Thank you to the following students who donated their hair:

Celine K

Malia M

Samyuta M

Maiya M

Natalya B

Karina S

Faith S

Colette K

Riley W

Thank you to the following parents who donated:

Mrs. Westlund

Mrs. Patel

Mrs. Davidson

Mrs. Marandani

Mrs. Lopez