Valentine’s Day was all about the love at the Share the Love event hosted by CF Kids, the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, and Red Tricycle. The first annual charity event raised 746 inches of donated hair and nearly $2,000 benefiting Locks of Love.

The CF Kids Salon at Crossroads Bellevue Mall was booked solid for nine hours that day, collecting ponytails for children with medical hair loss.

“The salon was packed from morning until evening,” said CF Kids marketing coordinator Emily Taibl. “It was so exciting to see people from 2 to 60, of every ethnicity, joining together for this amazing cause.”

The CF Kids Salon started with an initial goal of 300 inches, but quickly realized they would pass that number easily.

“People were bringing in ponytails they had kept for years. We even had one family donate about 36 inches of their mother’s hair that she cut 90 years ago,” said CF Kids Owner, Kathryn Straub, who cut 13 inches of her own hair that day. “It’s just hair to me, it will grow back, but to these kids it’s everything.”

Salon manager Dennice Gyamfi also was very excited. Five of the salon’s stylists donated more than 37 hours of their time for the event.

“I’ve been thinking that Locks of Love would be the perfect fit for our salon for a long time. It was amazing to spend time with these girls all day as they made this sacrifice. It was truly inspirational,” she added.

CF Kids is located at Crossroads Bellevue Mall at 15600 N.E. Eighth St. and at www.cfkidsonline.com.