Free haircuts will be offered tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to people who wish to donate their hair to the non-profit organization Locks of Love at Great Clips inside the Student Union Memorial Center.
The Jewish Law Students Association of the UA Hillel Foundation and Great Clips are sponsoring the event and will be donating the hair to Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children younger than 18 years old suffering from long-term medical hair loss, according to a press release.
Men and women of all ages, color and race are encouraged to donate their hair if it's more than 10 inches long (tip to tip) excluding wigs, falls or synthetic hair. Hair may be colored or permed, but not bleached or chemically damaged.
Curly hair can be straightened to measure the minimum 10 inches, and layered hair may be divided into multiple ponytails for donation, according to a press release.
Emilie Hyams, the organizer of the event, said monetary donations are welcome for those who don't have hair long enough to donate. More than $500 was raised by monetary donations alone last year, she said.
Hyams, a second-year law student, said she came across Locks of Love six years ago and was asked by someone to donate her hair for the cause.
Hyams agreed and decided to start a program benefiting Locks of Love at the UA with the help of the UA Hillel Foundation, which has helped make the event biannual.
"I found the idea really rewarding and contributing to the community at large," Hyams said. "Raising awareness towards the issue was something very important to me."
Becki Robichaud, an employee of Great Clips, said Locks of Love is a great cause for children losing their hair because of chemotherapy.
She said she holds the event close to her heart because her aunt is going through a similar experience.
"You don't usually think you can help somebody by donating your hair," Robichaud said. "I hope others go home and feel good about doing something good for somebody else."
The collected hairpieces (not wigs) are sent to Locks of Love where they are shaped and processed to fit a child suffering from cancer and leukemia.
Children apply for the pieces depending on their economic status, Hyams said.
"Any given piece is worth between $3,000 to $6,000," Hyams said.
Hyams said her hair was more than 12 inches long the first time she took part in the cause.
Nowadays Hyams said she and even her male friends go out of their way to grow their hair out when the Locks of Love event is going on.
Hyams said 55 people participated in last year's Locks of Love event, and there are six to seven people signed up for this year so far. She said she encourages the public to walk in and take part in the event or make a donation to the cause.