Courage, confidence and character—these are the words that we have seen as we have opened Girl Scout cookie boxes this last month. These words mean even more to the girls of Troop 40830 as they prepare to host their Locks of Love event in Lake Stevens and give children living without hair the confidence and courage having a full head of hair can bring.

Troop Leader Cassandra White introduced the girls to Zink the Zebra last year, a Girl Scout program where scouts learn the story of a spotted zebra who didn’t fit in because all of the other zebras were striped.
The story was written by a young cancer patient, Kelly Weil, who lost her hair due to her cancer treatments. Weil also felt different because she didn’t have any hair and all of her friends did.

“Zink the Zebra was different than everybody else because he was spotted instead of striped. In the (Locks of Love) movie one of the girls was embarrassed that she didn’t have hair,” Girl Scout Carly White, 10, said.
After reading the book, the girls watched a video on Locks of Love and decided, as a troop, to use proceeds from their Girl Scout cookie money to hold a community event where people can donate their hair to the Locks of Love program.

“I felt sad because they (the girls in the movie) didn’t have hair and every girl wants to have hair,” Hannah DuByne, 10, said.

The Locks of Love program provides high quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children with any medical hair loss, however, because many of the girls in the troop have had loved ones suffer from cancer and hair loss, they relate this program to those they have seen suffer.

“Two of my aunties and my teacher have had cancer and lost their hair. I felt sad when I saw them without hair and I wanted to do something,” Katie Stevens, 10, said.

“My aunt Emily died of cancer and I want to help people who have cancer. She usually wore a hat but I felt very sad for her,” Madeline Davis, 10, said. “Having help will make them (those without hair) feel normal again. It must be very, very hard.”

The girls’ wish is to offer kids just like themselves, hope and confidence as they move along in their medical treatments.

“I think helping them get hair will make them happy and I like to help people,” Ashlyn Burgess, 10, said.
“It will help kids with cancer so they can do the things they want to do without feeling embarrassed,” Rory Flinn, 9, said.

Many of the girls in the troop will also be donating their hair that day.
“I was going to cut my hair anyway, but I wanted to help someone too. I decided to donate it to Locks of Love,” Marin Neilsen, 10, said. Neilsen has donated her hair once before.

The Locks of Love event will take place on Saturday, May 15 at Mt. Pilchuck Elementary School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hairdressers will be on hand to cut and style the hair of those who donate.

Guidelines for donation include:
• 10 inches of hair measured tip to tip minimum; colored or permed hair is acceptable (however, bleached hair is not); hair cut years ago and has been stored in a braid or a ponytail is acceptable; curly hair can be straightened to measure 10 inches and layered hair is acceptable if longest layer is at least 10 inches.

• The troop is also asking for monetary donations and will have a paper thermometer on hand the measure both hair and cash donations.

• They are also looking for local hairdressers to donate an hour or more of their time on May 15.
For more information or to donate time or money please contact Troop Leader Cassandra White at 425-377-1395 or whitemcmc@comcast.net.

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