Dozens donate locks to benefit kids with cancer

CANFIELD – Karen Crogan and her 9-year-old daughter, Lena, understand hair loss.

The two have friends and family members who’ve battled cancer, so they decided they could do without their own long, dark tresses.

The Crogans of Canfield were among the 49 people who gathered Sunday in the Canfield High School cafeteria to get haircuts for a good cause.

The cut-a-thon was organized by the Canfield PTO and Canfield Rotary. Ten stylists from seven area salons donated their time to chop the locks of children, parents – even grandparents.

“We gave everyone at least a year to grow their hair,” said Betty Leone, a PTO member and its past president. She said she came up with the idea last year when trying to plan a community service project for the organization.

The hair will be donated to two organizations: Wigs for Kids, which accepts only untreated hair; and Locks of Love, which will take both untreated and some chemically-treated hair.

Both organizations use the hair for wigs for children whose own hair fell out because of medical treatments, health conditions or burn accidents.