Family's hair is precious gift to kids

The family has made four donations to charity in four years.
By KATIE LIBECCO
VINDY.COM CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- Meryl Schor says not everyone recognizes her now, but she's happy. She knows she did a good thing.
The 9-year-old made her second donation of hair Nov. 3 to Locks of Love, a charitable group based in Lake Worth, Fla., that provides wigs to children who have lost their hair from cancer and are financially disadvantaged. Meryl donated 15" of hair to be used.
Among her mother, Harriet, sister, Alyssa, and herself, they've made four donations to Locks of Love since 2003.
For the family, it all began in 2002 when Harriet Schor, a physician for the Trumbull Mahoning Medical Group, decided to cut her hair. When she began thinking about seeing the hair on the floor, it reminded her of Locks of Love, she said.
Thinking that it was a waste to throw away all of the hair, she made sure she followed the guidelines to donate 10 inches of her hair.
Meryl, now a fourth-grader at Akiva Academy in Youngstown, was so young then, she doesn't remember when her mom made her first donation.
The following year, when Meryl was 5, she made her first donation, 12 inches of hair, to Locks of Love. Then her sister, Alyssa, donated 10 inches the following year. Alyssa is currently a seventh-grade student at W.S. Guy Middle School in Liberty.
"Am I the one who cut the most?" Meryl asked her mom as they explained their involvement with Locks of Love.
"Yes, you get that distinction," Harriet said.
Meryl said she wasn't scared to get her haircut since she had done it before, but it felt "weird." Her karate instructor and other family friends haven't recognized her with her new, short hair, she said.
"When do I get to do this again? In eighth grade, right? Can I do this every four years?" Meryl asked her mom.
"Whenever you want. It's up to you," Harriet responded. "Her hair grows so fast that she's able to do this," she explained.
Meryl said she knows what she is doing is a good thing, and thinks some of her long-haired friends at school will donate too.
Harriet said supporting Locks of Love was personal, having witnessed family members cope with cancer and being a physician herself.
"Cancer is such a devastating disease that if anything can be done to enhance the quality of life, it's important to me," Harriet said.
One thing that surprised her about working with the organization, she said, is the strict guidelines that have to be followed to donate hair. According to www.locksoflove.org, hair must be at least 10" and in a braid or ponytail. Hair cannot be bleached or show damage. It also must be "suitable for children," eliminating white and gray hair.
Hair that does not meet these standards, the Web site said, is sold "at fair market value to offset the cost of manufacturing."
klibecco@vindy.com
Photo by Katie Libecco