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by Kristin Vantrease

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Student Donates Hair to
Locks of Love

Shannon Kelsay donated more than 10 inches of her red hair to Locks of Love.
--Shannon Kelsay, photos

When Shannon Kelsay, a sophomore at Multnomah Bible College, walked into Bishops Hair Salon, she knew exactly what she wanted: to donate 10 inches of her long, red hair to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that creates hairpieces from donated hair. They distribute the hairpieces to cancer patients and children under age 18 who suffer from alopecia areata. Alopecia areata, an auto immune disorder, has no cure and leaves victims bald.

Kelsay said she had known for five years that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. She learned of the organization through the group's Web site and several friends who have donated hair.

Kelsay said she called Bishops, a hair salon located on Hawthorne Boulevard, and discovered they would cut and bag her hair, but she would have to send it to Locks of Love herself. Unconcerned with the extra responsibility, Kelsay blazed ahead with her plan.

Inside Bishops, Kelsay's hairdresser seated her in a chair, flung a cape around her shoulders and helped her plan her new haircut.

As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, Kelsay said she thought, Maybe I shouldn't do this. However, minutes later a rubber band was tied around 10 inches of her freshly cut hair, and the hairdresser plopped the bundle into a brown paper bag.

Kelsay said she has no regrets. Although she will never meet the person who will receive her hair, she is comforted knowing that she has made a difference in someone's life.

Marjen Jafarbay, freshman, had a similar experience. When she was 15 years old, she decided that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and severed from the rest of her locks. Jafarbay's hairdresser handed the 12-inch-long ponytail to her. Jafarbay said she was shocked by the sudden change, but, like Kelsay, never regretted the decision to impact a child's life.

The mission statement of Locks of Love 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."

Locks of Love became a nonprofit organization in 1997, founded by Madonna Coffman, who is still president of the organization. Ms. Coffman was inspired to create Locks of Love after she and her 4-year-old daughter both suffered from alopecia. The organization concentrates its efforts on patients who have permanent hair loss but also helps children undergoing chemotherapy.

The minimum length for hair donation is 10 inches, but there is no maximum limit. Colored and permed hair are also accepted.

"If you've got good hair, share it," Kelsay said. Some specific salons participate in Locks of Love, but the majority of salons will cut hair and then, like Bishops, allow the customers to send in the hair themselves.

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