Baldwin Girls Donate Hair to Charity

On a recent rainy day, five students and two faculty members sat down in chairs at in Bryn Mawr to get their hair cut.

But their drastically changed styles weren’t about them.

Fourth grader Frances Wilson, third grader Hana Ahanger, second grader Kaya Weiser, first graders Angelina Lee and Zoe Ross, second grade teacher Brie Daley and manager of admissions operations Kath Houlahan went to Salon di Moda to donate their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which partners with the American Cancer Society to donate wigs to women with cancer.

They passed around rulers to make sure everyone had the requisite 8 inches of hair to donate, parents took pictures, and freshly chopped-off hair was secured with ponytail holders and placed in plastic bags they would all send in together.

It was Frances’s third time getting her hair cut for charity.

“[The first time she donated] was her first salon experience, and we talked about relatives who had cancer and what it would mean to a child who needed this,” said Frances’s mother, Lisa Lexa.

The group donation was an idea that was started by second grade teacher Brie Daley, who was thinking of donating her own hair and opened up the idea to students. 

“I was trying to be an example to the girls,” Daley said. “It’s easy to do, but it shows such a compassionate choice, especially for young girls.”

It’s unique in that girls can donate something themselves rather than getting their parents to donate time or money to a cause, Daley added. It was the first time Daley had ever donated her hair, which had never been long enough before.

She started calling around, and Salon di Moda offered to cut their hair for free since they were donating it.

Laura Frustaci, the owner of 11-year-old Salon di Moda, said it was the first time she’d seen a group come in to donate their hair.

“Usually girls are attached to their hair, especially at a young age like that,” Frustaci said. “It just feels good to do something like this.” 

Kaya Weiser’s hair was the shortest of the bunch.

“I wanted it to be so I could not have to comb it in the morning and wouldn’t get it yanked out,” said Kaya, whose parents surprised her with a photo of a haircut like the one she would have to give to the stylist. “I wanted to make a difference for some people out there.”

In addition to the girls who donated their hair last week, Baldwin’s website coordinator Robyn Connelly, second grader Blake Landow and third grader Taylor Levinson also are donating their hair from recent cuts. Third grader Rani Bleznak and her mother donated their hair over the summer.

Daley said she hopes the donation becomes an annual event for students and faculty at Baldwin.