For many people, hair is something that helps defines personality, but for cancer patients, that part of their identity is often taken away.
Beautiful Lengths helps remedy this by providing wigs to those who need them by using hair donations in an attempt to make women fighting cancer feel like themselves again.
Keene State College is in its fourth year hosting a Beautiful Lengths event on campus, and the pledging for donations has just begun.
The first pledging took place on Sunday, Feb. 28, and there will be several more until the alleged event date on April 2.
KSC senior and coordinator of Beautiful Lengths Alyssa DeMarco said that she is very passionate about the organization in comparison to other hair-donating companies.
“I love that Beautiful Lengths is a very direct organization,” DeMarco said, “The hair is given to Beautiful Lengths, made into wigs and directly given to the women who do not have to pay a cent for their wig. Some other hair-donating organizations require the women to pay for their wigs, which can usually cost around one thousand dollars or more if made with human hair.”
The minimum amount of hair a person must get cut off to donate is eight inches.
According to DeMarco, there are usually 60 donors per year that participate in this event. Hair donations can also be made outside of the event and sent in to Beautiful Lengths separately.
First-time donor and KSC junior Ally MacDonald said she will be donating her hair in honor of those she has lost to cancer.
“A lot of people who are close to me have had cancer, and a few of them have died from it, so I want to do what I can for the cause,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald said that she wanted to donate last year, but her hair did not quite make the cut. She said she has been growing her hair out since then in order to make a donation this year.
DeMarco said that she has been involved with Beautiful Lengths since her first year at KSC, but has been more involved these past two years since she became the coordinator.
She said that she has donated her hair twice since she has been at KSC, but does not think her hair will be long enough this year.
“I think it is just such a great cause and an easy way to get involved,” DeMarco said. “I met a woman once who said that her goal was to donate her height in inches in hair. I’d like to make that my goal someday.”
Olivia Belanger can be contacted at obelanger@kscequinox.com
