Danielle Attice, 9, of Englishtown, shows off how much hair that stylist Kelly McDermott, of Salon Cemone in Manalapan, had to cut off on Sept. 5 for Danielle to be able to donate it to Locks of Love. ALLENTOWN – Nine-year-old Danielle Attice wants hair, homes and happiness for the world over.
After about two years of letting her own hair grow long, Danielle, of Englishtown, decided a few months ago that she needed a haircut. But when she found out that she could donate her ponytail to Locks of Love when it measured 10 inches long, Danielle decided to wait the haircut out so she could possibly help another child in need.
“I did it because I feel bad for people and children who lose their hair because of cancer,” Danielle said. “I always wanted to help these people.”
Locks of Love is a public, nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. The hair prostheses are custommade from donated ponytails and retail for between $3,500 and $6,000. The organization donates and sells wigs to those in need on sliding scales based on a family’s income.
Danielle waited five extra months before getting a haircut just so she could have a ponytail long enough to donate to Locks of Love.
Her mother, Christine, said, “I thought it was terrific of her to be so kind.”
Describing her daughter as a child with a very big heart, Christine said Danielle also sold cookies to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims and wants to build houses for homeless people when she grows up.
Danielle’s mother, a Realtor at Millstone’s Century 21 Action Plus on Route 33, may have inspired her to want to build homes, but it was her grandfather who died from complications of cancer who served as the catalyst for her latest charitable endeavor.
After doing some research online to find out how she could go about donating her hair, Danielle got her haircut on Sept. 5 by Kelly Mc- Dermott at Salon Cemone in Town Pointe Shopping Center in Manalapan.
Danielle donned her new do for the first day of school on Sept. 6.
“My friends like it,” she said. “I think it looks pretty. But no matter how I look, I know I did a right thing.”
Her mother said that people need to realize the importance of community service at a young age.
“The kids of today have everything and don’t have any idea what it is to want or need anything,” Christine said. “There’s only two classes nowadays – the poor and the rich – and a lot of people are in need.
“It’s up to the kids of today to help,” she continued. “If kids don’t grow up giving, then the giving back stops.”
Danielle, who aspires to help the homeless and to someday become a veterinarian, had some advice for other kids her age.
“You should grow your hair long and then donate it because it is right,” Danielle said. “No one should have cancer, and no one should be living on the streets. They should all have hair, have homes and be happy.”