An act of love
<p>Carol Bidwell reacts after her ponytail was cut off last week at a local barber shop.</p>
SUPERIOR – Because of one Superior resident’s act of compassion last week, somewhere a child suffering from long-term hair loss due to a medical condition will receive a quality hair prosthetic.
As she sat in the chair of a local barber shop last week, Carol Bidwell said she has been growing her hair out for nearly two years in preparation to donate it to an organization that makes sure children who have lost their hair receive a prosthetic. Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children across the U.S. and Canada.
Bidwell said she was inspired to grow her hair out and donate it to Locks of Love because she felt it was an extremely worthy cause and one that was easily overlooked by the masses.
“I’m getting my locks lopped off so it can be donated to Locks of Love,” Bidwell said. “This organization helps cancer victims who need wigs. They help children who have lost their hair. I really feel like this a worthy cause. This is a cause that is dear to my heart.”
Bidwell said she had tried before but after a year of growing her hair out, she was unable to get it to the required length for a donation. This time however, she was determined to meet her goal. Bidwell said it took nearly two years to grow her hair out to the required length of ten inches.
“It was a struggle,” Bidwell said. “I tried twice before. I guess the third time was the charm. There are also certain restrictions. You can’t have dyed your hair or bleached your hair. You can’t have over processed your hair. I’m very happy to be doing this.”
According to their website, Locks of Love’s mission is to, “return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.”
The organization was created in 1997 by a retired nurse who had developed a medical condition in her early 20s that caused her to lose her hair.
Madonna Coffman developed a condition known a alopecia after receiving a hepatitis vaccination but it was only after her daughter developed the same condition that she began to devote her time solely to Locks of Love.
Locks of Love has provided hairpieces to hair loss victims in all 50 states and Canada.
Their stated goal is to help every financially disadvantaged child suffering from long-term hair loss.