Mooseheart students help Locks of Love

Twice this spring, students at Mooseheart have entered the school's cosmetology classroom with long, flowing hair and walked out with over a foot of those locks left behind.

The reason third-grader Kayla Schwartz and high school junior Adrianna Aguayo had their tresses shortened was so they could make a donation to Locks of Love, a not-for-profit organization which takes hair donations of one foot or more.

That hair is then turned into hairpieces for people who have lost their own hair due to treatment for cancer or other diseases.

"I think it's a good thing to do," Aguayo said. "I have all this hair and I can do things with it. But I'd rather give it to somebody who's lost theirs."

Hair donations to Locks of Love have become an annual rite at Mooseheart, and the examples of Schwartz and Aguayo have other girls on campus thinking they might like to have at least the minimum 12 inches sheared from their heads as well.

"They both know they've done it for a good cause," Mooseheart cosmetology instructor Dodie Whitmer said. "And others have seen how good their hair looks after it's cut."

One of the things that makes Mooseheart's Locks of Love donations special is the cosmetology students who cut their fellow students' hair. Robin Young cut Schwartz's hair while Sierra Ross handled the scissors for Aguayo's haircut.

"I think it's an experience for the kids themselves to do it," Whitmer said. "It makes them feel good that they're taking part in a special moment. I could do it, but having a student cutting their hair makes it a special moment. For (Young and Ross), they know they've done a good accomplishment."

Whitmer said Schwartz was the first Mooseheart elementary school student to donate hair to Locks of Love. At the time of her haircut, Schwartz had been a resident at Mooseheart for just over one month.

"She's been all excited since she came here about doing this," Whitmer said. "When she came in for her first haircut, she said she didn't want it to be cut any shorter because she was preparing for Locks of Love."

Schwartz shed a tear or two during the haircut.

"I was scared at first," Schwartz said. "I'm still kind of upset. I kind of want my hair back."

But Schwartz soon composed herself and looked at the larger picture, the people who she will help through the donation of her hair.

"I want to give my hair to people who need it," Schwartz said. "I have a couple of friends who have had cancer."

Aguayo, a high school junior, last had her hair cut in eighth grade - also for Locks of Love. She had just over one foot of hair cut from her head, yet still had hair that cascaded to past her shoulders.

"They had prom here (April 25), and she wanted to have her last 'up-do,' and then she wanted to have her hair cut for Locks of Love," Whitmer said. "She's still got a lot of hair left that she can play with."

Both Schwartz and Aguayo said they plan to eventually donate even more hair to Locks of Love - once it grows back to a suitable length.

Mooseheart Child City and School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations, the majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors.