Source: Central Jersey.com
For the 15th year, students at Amsterdam Elementary School in Hillsborough have participated in the annual drive that a teacher “accidentally” began in 2003. Fourth grade teacher Lisa Caudill had mentioned to her class that she was growing out her hair to donate, “and they were hooked.”
Her students began measuring her hair and showed interest in the organization Locks of Love. Caudill had her hair cut in a classroom ceremony by the mother of one of her students, who worked as a hair stylist. Later that year, some of her students decided to follow suit and also held an in-class ceremony. Word spread, and Caudill got the green light from the school to start the hair donation program.
This year, approximately 276 inches of hair were collected. Since those first in-class ceremonies, officials say the school’s fourth-grade classes have donated nearly 7,500 inches of hair. The show of selflessness from nineteen students, two teachers, two former students and one parent were part of a yearly hair donation ceremony to benefit Wigs for Kids, a non-profit organization that makes hairpieces for children.
“This is one of the things I am most proud of in all of my years of teaching,” she said. “I love the fact that students are given the opportunity to leave a legacy behind after they’ve come and gone through our hallways. They’re bringing that spirit of generosity with them.”
Along with this year’s hair donations, Caudill said the drive also managed to collect approximately $1,100 in monetary donations through a hair extension fundraiser, which gave students and staff the chance to purchase pink or red hair extensions.
Hair Plus, a local hair salon in Hillsborough, assisted in this year’s hair drive by not only bonding the extensions to peoples’ hair, but also taking the time to cut the 24 hair donations on June 1.
Looking back over the last 15 years of hair donation drives, Caudill said she was incredibly proud of all of her students, who she said deserved all of the credit.
“I think the thing that’s most touching about the program is that it’s kids helping other kids,” she said. “I think the program will live on long after I am a part of the Hillsborough Township School District. It has a life of its own, it lives and breathes and it’s a part of every fiber of our school.”
You can find out more about Locks Of Love and Wigs For Kids at their Web sites.