Algonquin girl salon's youngest to shed hair for charity
Courtney Durben, 6, says she wasn't afraid when her hairstylist recently lopped off 11 inches of her long blond hair.
That's because the Algonquin girl knew it was going toward Locks of Love, the organization that fashions wigs out of donated ponytails for child cancer patients who otherwise couldn't afford them.
"She had a big smile on her face (on haircutting day) and wanted to confirm that her hair would be sent to Locks of Love," said her mom Kim Durben.
In doing so, Courtney, then age 5, became the youngest client ever to donate hair to the group through JT Michaels Hair Studio in Lake in the Hills, said owner Cynthia Eckman.
Typically, it is high school girls lining up to get their locks shorn for the charity, she said.
"Teenage girls are willing to go for more wild changes," said Eckman, Courtney's and Kim's hair dresser for three years.
Eckman, who has sent hair off to Locks of Love for six years, also reports Courtney was eager to get started.
"She knew what she was doing," Eckman said. "I expected tears."
Kim says she and her daughter had been talking about donating her hair for quite a while and as time marched on, her hair got even longer.
But it wasn't until they watched a program about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that Courtney clearly saw who would benefit from her crowning glory.
St. Jude, located in Memphis and founded by the late actor Danny Thomas, is a cancer research and treatment facility for children, according to its Web site.
The program Courtney and Kim saw featured bald, cancer-stricken children hospitalized at the facility.
"It really touched her, and she would cry when she would see them on the show," Kim Durben said. "From that point on, she said that donating her hair would give another child some happiness."
Courtney, who turned 6 on July 1, isn't the only person in the Durben family to donate her hair to the cause.
Her older cousin Lacey Brinkmann started the family trend and has shed her hair three times for Locks of Love.
Cancer also is no stranger to Courtney's family.
Courtney's 84-year-old great-grandfather is a prostate cancer survivor, and her great-uncle has beaten bladder cancer.
Asked if she'd donate her locks again, Courtney, whose hair now grazes her shoulder blades, shyly says yes.
"She wanted to grow it out again so that she could donate her hair another time," her mom Kim said. "My husband, Mike and I have raised our girls to understand that they need to be grateful for what they have and to realize that we need to help others out."