When 7-year-old Carina Ableman learned about Locks of Love during a Girl Scout meeting, she knew she wanted to help. Carina, who was adopted from China when she was 10 months old, arrived in the states with a shaved head of hair. She now has long black hair which nearly reaches down to her waistline. Like most little girls, Carina loves her long hair and wearing colorful barrettes and headbands.
That’s why when Girl Scouts Regional Director for East King County Bernadette Merikle spoke with the troops in the area about donating their hair to Locks of Love, something stirred inside Carina. Like most little girls, she could not imagine losing all of her hair to an illness or an auto-immune disorder like alopecia areata, a condition affecting humans, in which hair is lost from areas of the body, usually from the scalp.
After a couple of months, Carina decided to take the bold step and donate 12 inches of her hair to help provide hair pieces for other kids her age.
Carina will donate her hair at the Share the Love today at CommonFolk Kids and Salon at Crossroads Bellevue Mall. CF Kids and the Girl Scouts of Western Washington will be collecting hair donations for the non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
CF Kids Owner Kathryn Straub has been growing out her hair for eight long years in anticipation of this day.
“I have very long hair and my husband loves my long hair. I had to prepare him that I was planning to cut it for Locks of Love in the future,” she said with a smile. “When we took over the children’s store and opened the kids salon I knew it was time to put on an event to get the community involved in support of such a great cause.”
According to Locks of Love, it takes only six to 10 ponytails to create one hair piece that will help change a child’s life.
“Kids understand the importance of hair. It’s not simple for them to donate. It means a lot to them and they understand they are giving something that will mean a lot to another child,” Straub explained.
CF Kids already has 120 inches of hair donated for the event and the goal is reach 300 inches for Locks of Love.
Those donating will receive a free hair cut courtesy of CF KIDS Salon stylists. Appointments will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and can be made by calling 425.643.5437.
A silent auction also will take place in front of CF Kids from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature restaurant dining packages, two flights on Alaska Airline, bundles of fun toys and more.
CommonFolks Kids and Salon are located at Crossroads Bellevue Mall, at Northeast Eighth 156th Avenue Northeast.
Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.
