June 15, more than 50 parents, faculty members and students participated in Hopewell Elementary School’s annual Locks of Love event.
The event collected 163 individual ponytails to benefit Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
All Hopewell Elementary students, grades pre-kindergarten to fifth, attended a whole school meeting to kick off the day’s festivities and witness the initial big “chop” of all the donors.
“Today, we are excited to be a part of helping these children get custom-made hairpieces that will look real and stay on so they can just relax and be kids like you,“” said Sue Dayner, one of the coordinators of the Locks of Love event, who addressed all the children at Hopewell Elementary during this meeting.
The school’s art room was transformed into a salon for the day where all donors later returned for an appointment with a licensed hair stylist. This event would not have been possible without Friends Salon at 46 E. Broad St. in Hopewell Borough, volunteering its services for the day and providing free basic haircuts to all donors.
The school also is grateful to Thomas Sweet in Princeton for donating chocolate treats for the participants to thank them for their donation.
In 2013, the Hopewell Elementary School Locks of Love event donated 110 ponytails, and in 2014, 113 ponytails. It is estimated it takes six to 10 ponytails to make one hairpiece.
