Tuesday night, Penn Newman Center hosted a kick-off for their first annual Locks of Love Hair Drive.
The event was held — in the words of Penn Women’s Center Program and Outreach Coordinator Shaina Adams-El Guabli — in an attempt to “break down ideas of what hair really means.”
Hosted at the Women’s Center, the gathering provided both women and men an opportunity to meet other donors. The event aimed to create a support network for those interested in pledging their hair to Locks of Love, an organization that uses donated hair to create wigs for children who have lost their hair due to severe illness.
The drive will conclude on April 25 when all interested donors will have their hair cut by local stylists.
College senior and Penn Newman co-organizer Mary Kate McKnight greeted potential donors, hoping that many would pledge the ten inch minimum needed to construct a complete wig.
“You could give as little as six inches” she said, adding that hair less that ten inches in length is normally sold to companies that make smaller wigs.
Adams-El Guabli acknowledged that some women might find it difficult to give six inches, as hair is often related to self-perception.
“Short haired me and long haired me are two different people. Women tend to get a haircut when they want to start a new chapter in their lives.”
Using InStyle Magazine’s makeover tool, College senior Stephanie Scott offered some assurance for hesitant donors by creating before and after images of what they would look like if they decided to contribute.
“Women tend to think in the now. Since hair grows half an inch per month, if you do donate six inches two months from now, you will really be giving only four inches since your hair would have grown by then,” she added.
Engineering junior Kathryn Downes found it easier to contribute after developing a support network at the event.
“When I found out that Penn was doing this drive, I decided to donate at school so I could share the experience with others,” she said.
Women were not the only participants in the drive. Wharton graduate James Drumm explained that he grew his hair for 16 months after seeing children with cancer at CHOP: “Hair is a renewable resource that you can regrow but they can’t.”
“This is something small compared to what they go through,” Drumm added.
