Locks of Love to benefit from 'Cuts for a Cause'

JACKSON - While some people's idea of getting a haircut may be sticking a bowl on their head and trimming the sides, at Jackson Liberty High School a haircut has taken on a lot more meaning than that.

On April 7, Jackson Liberty High School, 125 North Hope Chapel Road, will host an event that has been dubbed "Cuts for a Cause."

"This idea was my own and I am taking full responsibility for all that is entailed in making this a great success," said hairdresser and cosmetology teacher Angela Kaltsas.

"First the students at Jackson Liberty will have an assembly featuring Locks of Love, an organization which accepts human hair and uses it to make wigs for cancerstricken children or for children with hair loss due to alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder that causes the hair follicles to shut down," Kaltsas explained.

Donors provide the hair, volunteers open and sort the donations, and the hairpieces are then hand-assembled.

Kaltsas said children comprise more than 80 percent of the donors to Locks of Love, which makes it a charity where children have the opportunity to help other youngsters.

Jackson Liberty Principal Maureen Butler said, "As with our Caps for Kids fundraiser, this is the type of activity that is fun for our students but at the same time raising their awareness of issues we are faced with as a society, such as cancer. The students can see that there are positive effects to their giving and how much an item such as their hair can change another person's life."

Locks of Love aims to return a sense of self-confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss. The children receive their hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

In the second part of the "Cuts for a Cause" program, senior cosmetology students at the Jackson Center Vocational Technical School will come to Jackson Liberty at 2 p.m. and finish the haircuts for people who donated their hair, all for a $10 donation.

Kaltsas said the money will be donated to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The general public- not just those who are donating hair for Locks of Love - may come to the school and receive a haircut from the cosmetology students, she said.

"The cosmetology students will be aided by their teacher and myself," said Kaltsas, who has been a hairdresser for 30 years and has held a teaching license in cosmetology for five years.

"We'll have great haircuts, food, T-shirts, a DJ and more, and it will be a great opportunity for the students at Jackson Liberty to help others by giving something to people who are not as fortunate as they are," Kaltsas said.

Jackson Liberty Key Club members are also involved in the "Cuts for a Cause."

- Dave Benjamin