Donating to Locks of Love

If there's one thing I really never get around to doing it's getting a haircut. I probably can go more than a year without cutting my hair (yes, I know you shouldn't do that). My hair tends to get really long at times (down to my butt) before I just chop it all off at once, and towards the end, I end up not cutting it on purpose so I can give it to 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 under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

Mission Statement

Our mission 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. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need."

This is my second donation to Locks of Love, my first time being when I was in eighth grade. I just think it's a great organization.

It's really easy to donate. I just walked into Great Clips ($10 hair cut, holla!) had the hair dresser braid my hair, measure the braid with a ruler (I donated 11.5 inches this time, but the minimum is 10), and chop. Then I put it in a ziplock bag and mailed it in. Now, if you've gone a really long time between cuts like I did, you'll have to get a little trim to get the dead ends off first. Locks of Love can't use hair that's too damaged (including colored/bleached hair, etc).

Here are their specific instructions for donation and their address:

• 10 inches measured tip to tip is the minimum length needed for a hairpiece.
• Hair must be in a ponytail or braid before it is cut.
• Hair must be clean and completely dry before it is mailed in.
• Place the ponytail or braid inside of a plastic bag, and then inside of a padded envelope.
• If you wish to receive an acknowledgment for your hair donation, please fill out the hair donation form, or write your name and e-mail address or mailing address on a full size separate sheet of paper and include inside the envelope. We cannot acknowledge donors who do not send their name and address according to these instructions.
• All hair donations must be mailed to Locks of Love at: 
  
  
  234 Southern Blvd.
  West Palm Beach, FL 33405-2701
• **IMPORTANT** When mailing your donation, please make sure that you are sending it with adequate postage. The U.S. Postal Service has notified Locks of Love that many donations are being sent without enough postage, and these packages will be returned to sender! To ensure adequate postage, please take your donation to your local post office.
• For more info: http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html

If your hair is at your butt like mine was and you haven't heard of Locks of Love, I really hope you think about them next time you get a haircut!