A cut for kids

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Published on Saturday, May 28, 2016

By Sheila Runions

Banner Staff

Four-year-old Summer Gillis of Rivers did not really enjoy having such long hair so rather than toss the tresses, parents Brandon and Skye Gillis decided to recycle them. Following a May 14 trip to Hair Dynamics, stylist Melissa Baranyk cut a 12-inch pony tail from Summer which was shipped to Angel Hair for Kids in Mississauga, Ont.

Angel Hair for Kids is a charity that provides wigs to financially disadvantaged children in Canada after all other avenues of support have been denied that family. It is one of the many programs while operates under A Child’s Voice Foundation. 

Most hair pieces require six to 10 ponytails and the cost to  manufacture is $800-$1,000. The need of this organization which helps children living with medical hair loss is because most wigs sold today are sized for adults, thus being too large for children. Angel Hair’s prosthetics provide recipients a smaller cap area which eliminates the need of tape or glue, which often causes more scalp irritation than what may already exist. Total hair loss is typically from alopecia aerate, an auto-immune condition for which there is no known cause or cure; however, other children may be bald because of burns, cancer or stress. If you are planning a shorter style and have at least a foot of hair to cut off, you may want to consider donating your locks to Angel Hair. For more information about the charity visit acvf.ca/index.php/our-programs/angel-hair-for-kids/ or Google Angel Hair for Kids.