Locks of Love
My parents have taught us to be charitable ever since we were little. They are truly believers in “giving back” to society, no matter how large or small the donations might be.
My Dad has volunteered as a Treasurer (and other tasks) for the local Buddhist Temple for over ten years, and my Mom has also been involved with the same temple for the same amount of time. But that is just one aspect of their charity work.
We immigrated to America twenty six years ago with just the clothes on our backs (more on this in a later post), and with persisting hard work, we have been blessed manifold. Any opportunity that allows us to be charitable, we have/will wholeheartedly offer(ed) what we have to the less fortunate, be it donations or just sheer kindness towards one another.
A few months ago, while waiting in the Pediatrician’s office for one of my children’s sick visits (I swear, it’s like almost every other week!), I read an article about Ann Curry donating her long lustre hair (hmm, that’s why she was sporting that long do) to Locks of Love and I thought to myself “Wow! What a great idea!” You could say that I was inspired to grow out my own hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love after reading that piece.
According to their website, “Locks of Love (LOL) is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantage children 18 years and younger suffering from long-term medical hair loss called alopecia areata.” The organization has been featured in the media or mentioned on tv shows such as Oprah, 20/20, The View, etc…LOL’s also stated that the number of hairpieces produced has increase from 21 the first year to over 1000 to date.
But as I was researching the ‘Net tonight for info on Locks of Love to post about it. I was surprised and very dismayed to find the negative info on the organization itself. According to this article, in 2002, LOL received approximately 10,000 hairpieces donated mostly from children and folks like Ann Curry, yet give.org (the BBB of charity organizations) stated that LOL only made 174 wigs from these hairpieces that year. LOL’s financial records are private, therefore, the public doesn’t have the foggiest idea as to how they operate.
I’m confused and uncertain as to what I should do next. I realize that I can donate money (which I’ve done for various charities) but I figure since my hair grows out like weed (nice weed that is), why not donate it to someone who really needs it. Have you heard of LOL? Have you or your child ever donated hair to LOL? Does this article have any merit?
My parents have taught us to be charitable ever since we were little. They are truly believers in “giving back” to society, no matter how large or small the donations might be.
My Dad has volunteered as a Treasurer (and other tasks) for the local Buddhist Temple for over ten years, and my Mom has also been involved with the same temple for the same amount of time. But that is just one aspect of their charity work.
We immigrated to America twenty six years ago with just the clothes on our backs (more on this in a later post), and with persisting hard work, we have been blessed manifold. Any opportunity that allows us to be charitable, we have/will wholeheartedly offer(ed) what we have to the less fortunate, be it donations or just sheer kindness towards one another.
A few months ago, while waiting in the Pediatrician’s office for one of my children’s sick visits (I swear, it’s like almost every other week!), I read an article about Ann Curry donating her long lustre hair (hmm, that’s why she was sporting that long do) to Locks of Love and I thought to myself “Wow! What a great idea!” You could say that I was inspired to grow out my own hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love after reading that piece.
According to their website, “Locks of Love (LOL) is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantage children 18 years and younger suffering from long-term medical hair loss called alopecia areata.” The organization has been featured in the media or mentioned on tv shows such as Oprah, 20/20, The View, etc…LOL’s also stated that the number of hairpieces produced has increase from 21 the first year to over 1000 to date.
But as I was researching the ‘Net tonight for info on Locks of Love to post about it. I was surprised and very dismayed to find the negative info on the organization itself. According to this article, in 2002, LOL received approximately 10,000 hairpieces donated mostly from children and folks like Ann Curry, yet give.org (the BBB of charity organizations) stated that LOL only made 174 wigs from these hairpieces that year. LOL’s financial records are private, therefore, the public doesn’t have the foggiest idea as to how they operate.
I’m confused and uncertain as to what I should do next. I realize that I can donate money (which I’ve done for various charities) but I figure since my hair grows out like weed (nice weed that is), why not donate it to someone who really needs it. Have you heard of LOL? Have you or your child ever donated hair to LOL? Does this article have any merit?
that is scary– I hope they actually donate the hair pieces– why not call the organization yourself? Let them answer your questions. If they have nothing to hide, then they will answer them thoroughly.
What a great thing for you to do! I would check around because I believe there are other organizations as well, and you should be able to find a legitimate group that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable with your donation.
That’s interesting.
My sister-in-law and her 3 daughters have been donating hair to someplace that uses it to make wigs for cancer patients. I’m not sure the name of the place though–
I wonder if Oprah knows about this, Hmm… Maybe you could find a different charity that makes wigs for children. I would’ve thought Anne Curry being a news person would’ve had all the info before donating. I don’t know what to believe.
I wish I knew more about this. It doesn’t seem like there could be a lot of corruption when it’s hair being donated, rather than cash. But it would be nice to feel more confident about it before donating your locks.
I’d like to hear an update on this if you get any definitive info. Our school does locks for love events sometimes.
It’s funny you should mention this because I too was thinking about growing out my hair for this organization. After a number of months, I checked the website and saw that you had to have at least 8 inches of hair to donate. I’m a wimp, and I couldn’t stand it anymore, but at the same time, I didn’t want to be a wimp who gave up when things got uncomfortable. Long story short, my husband convinced me that we can just donate money.
So I was really glad to read this, as now I’m not sure if I should give to them or another children’s organization like St. Jude’s or UNICEF. I’d be interested to know what you discover.
P.S. Thanks for visiting my blog the other day…I’m a lurker, and I’ve been to your site a number of times.
I was impressed when I read through your comment the other day that you’re planning to donate your hair. How wonderful! I don’t know anything about Locks of Love, so I can’t help with that. I hope you do find out something about them (hopefully something positive to indicate that the reports are not true..)
I know that it takes upto 10 ponytails to make one wig. So that makes up for some those numbers. Also LOL’s website states that the ponytail must be at least 10 inches in length. Any ponytail not at 10 inches will be sold at fair market value to help cover the costs of wigs.
This tells me two things, 1) Some of the 10,000 ponytails were not at the 10 inch limit and 2) it isn’t a one to one ratio of ponytail to wig.
I imagine that 10,000 figure and the 174 total wig count is not in direct correlation with the amount of ponytails they receive that are actually usuable. They also can’t use hair not suitable for young children (i.e. gray or silver hair).
It would be interesting to find out how many ponytails donated from the 10,000 figure were actual solid usuabl ponytails.
FYI: If you want to donate your hair, but can’t stand the thought of at least 10 inches donate what you can as the organization will in turn sell whatever hair they can’t use for a wig at fair market value and use that to cover wig production cost.
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