Schools
LAS Students Get Summer Haircuts to Benefit Charity
41 students came out to Lafayette School on Tuesday night to have their haircut for Locks of Love and Wigs for Kids.
With the school year winding down and the summer quickly approaching, some students at Lafayette Avenue School and Washington Avenue School have brand new looks.
Stylists from Details Salon & Spa and Clips of Summit Salon cut students’ hair in Chatham’s first ever Hair Cut-a-Thon, part of an ongoing service project called "Hair for Confidence – Words for Hope."
Students were given information about Locks of Love and Wigs for Kids during October, and many have been growing their hair ever since. Siddarth Tumu, a fifth grader at Lafayette Avenue School, grew out his hair to raise awareness and support children with cancer. “I feel bad for the people with cancer, they must be real insecure and ashamed so I want to enlighten the future of kids who don’t have hair,” he said.
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Other students, like Jane Bissett, have had family members with cancer, and donated their hair to help other cancer patients in need. “My aunt had cancer and I felt bad for her, I wanted to give someone else a wig,” she said.
Locks of Love and Wigs for Kids are non-profit organizations that make wigs for children under 21 suffering from medical hair loss.
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Lafayette Avenue School Principle Cheryl Caggiano said that this event was a nice compliment to the other community service events the school participates in, like food and coat drives and raising money for American Red Cross relief efforts.
With the help of Details Salon and Spa and Clips of Summit Salon, this event had 28 hair donations, six buzz cuts and seven certificates to have their hair cut later when it is at least 10 inches long.
Loren Popper, a stylist at Details Salon & Spa, came in on her day off to get involved in the Hair Cut-a-Ton and give back to the community. “I don’t give enough of myself,” she said. “It’s for a really nice cause and I love cutting hair. I definitely want to start giving a little more of myself.”
Carmela Marucci, owner of Clips of Summit Salon, said that she wanted to participate in this event because she likes to help local communities. “It’s just a phenomenal cause. It’s children who have grown out their hair to do this, [and] it’s amazing to have a child so young think of someone other than themselves,” she said.
In addition to donating hair, students were encouraged to decorate flags as part of the service project Words for Hope. According to Julia Yu, the district wide organizer of Hair for Confidence – Words for Hope, children registered at Morristown Memorial Hospital will receive these flags before beginning chemotherapy treatments.
Lafayette Avenue School and Washington Avenue School were the main participators in this year’s Hair for Confidence – Words for Hope Cut-a-Ton, but Chatham students of all ages should begin growing out their hair because, according to Yu, there are plans to expand this service project district wide next year.