April 12 event to collect hair for Locks of Love
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON- A9-year-old boy who lost his grandmother to cancer wants to remember her in a special way.

Dylan Miller, a pupil at the Elms Elementary School, was inconsolable when his grandmother died of lung cancer last summer. He wanted to remember her in some way and, at the same time, educate the public about the dangers of smoking.

He began a project called Links for Lung Cancer, in which he makes and sells paper links to raise money for cancer awareness.

"My goal is to have Links for Lung Cancer draped everywhere and I intend to donate any money I receive to the Valerie Fund," Dylan said.

The Valerie Fund's mission is to provide support for pediatric oncology and the comprehensive health care of children with blood disorders.

At the same time he started the Links for Lung Cancer, Dylan began growing his hair. That gave rise to a meeting with Mike Kafton, who has been involved in a number of charitable causes. A result of that meeting was the desire to sponsor a Locks of Love event at The White Butterfly gift shop in Jackson in conjunction with the Tiberias Spa and Salon of Toms River.

Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children age 18 and younger who have medical hair loss which can be caused by a variety of reasons.

Approximately 2 million children throughout the United States have alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder that causes the hair follicles to shut down. Serious burns and radiation treatment for cancer are two other primary reasons for hair loss affecting thousands of young people.

Donors to Locks of Love provide the hair and then hairpieces are assembled by hand and given to the young people who have hair loss. Children comprise more than 80 percent of the donors to Locks of Love.

"I consider myself very fortunate to have met Dylan and while I listened to his heartfelt story about his grandmother I remembered another very touching story of a young child who had lost her hair from cancer treatments," Kafton said. "Dylan really was the inspiration for us to schedule this Locks of Love event and I look forward to working with him."

Kafton is asking all Jackson residents to consider participating in the April 12 Locks of Love event. The event will be held at the White Butterfly gift shop, 200 North County Line Road, between noon and 5 p.m. At that time hair will be cut and collected.

Locks of Love asks that hair donations be 10 inches or longer from tip to tip, clean and dry, free from bleach, bundled in a ponytail or braided and simply cut above the rubber band. Hair that has been colored or permed is acceptable.

Locks of Love also accepts donations of hair that is 6 to 10 inches in length and gray with the understanding that it will be sold to help offset manufacturing costs.

Each link in the Links for Lung Cancer fundraiser costs $1 and can be personalized. Links for Lung Cancer can be purchased at The White Butterfly.