Grayslake North girls pony up their hair

Unlike Samson, 57 girls with a cause didn't lose their strength after getting their hair cut.

After a drum roll and a quick snip, the first stylist raised her fist gripping a severed ponytail of hair and showed it to bleachers filled with Grayslake North High School students.

They roared with approval.

Eighteen hairstylists from six local salons volunteered to cut off ponytails as part of plans to battle the affects cancer.

Staff and students were challenged to "cut their hair and donate it to Pantene Pro-V's Beautiful Lengths," said child and development teacher Jill Tomasello. Tomasello, who coordinated the Pony Up for the Knights event, said the hair would be used to make natural-hair wigs for cancer patients facing the difficult side-effect of hair loss due to chemotherapy.

The idea surged from a conversation Tomasello had with students, revealing her plan to get her hair cut after two aunts were diagnosed with cancer and endured chemotherapy.

It "started as a conversation in class and it snowballed into sign-up sheets, and permission slips," Tomasello said. "The sad thing is that we've discovered that everyone at our school knows someone that has been affected by cancer."

According to the American Cancer Society in 2007 more than 1.4 million people were diagnosed with some form of cancer. About 559,650 people died from the disease.

Buying "real-hair wigs can cost as much as $1,200 and often are only partially covered by health insurance, making wigs unaffordable to many people," Tomasello said.

Realizing the important role hair plays in a person's image and self-expression, students and staff stepped up to do their part.

"My hair's been long for a long-time," said cafeteria staff member Cheryl Dethloff, adding she hadn't cut her hair since the 1980s.

Prior to stepping onto the gym floor, sophomore Fatima Cahn mentioned she'd been convinced several times before by peers not to get her hair cut.

"I'm proud of myself for doing this. I know it's for a good cause and I'm helping someone else," said Cahn nervously.

Tomasello said the school would like to host the event again next year and get more staff and students involved.