Trimming hair, growing hope
Lodi woman launches campaign to donate wigs to cancer patients
After almost seven months of crusading for other women and little girls to donate their hair to those battling cancer, Lodi resident Mary Campbell will finally cut off her ponytail and donate it to the cause this morning at Stained Salon in Lodi.
Five-year-old Avery Mangrich, who recently went into remission from rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles, will do the honors of cutting Campbell’s hair. Campbell, who will have nine inches cut from her flowing locks, has been growing her hair for this cause for over a year.
Mangrich’s battle with cancer inspired Campbell to launch a campaign to inspire women in the community to donate their hair to those battling cancer.
Mangrich was only 4 when she was getting pictures taken for her first day of preschool and a bulge was spotted behind her eye. It worsened over the following weeks and turned out to be cancer.
“Even though I don’t know the family really well, my heart just wants to help,” Campbell said. “There is nothing I can do to take her cancer away, but it can bring hope to give hair. So many women and little girls lose their hair from the chemo, and it is just something to bring them hope and brighten their day when they can receive a wig. It’s something where I really wanted to help support this family and community.”
Campbell began her campaign in September through Macaroni Kids Lodi, a community site that keeps parents in the know for what’s going in Lodi. So far, she has been able to get 30 women to donate ponytails.
Her goal is to get 100 ponytails by Sept. 16, which is Macaroni Kid Act of Kindness Day.
“I would love to get it out there and get the word out so that more people can donate,” Campbell said. “Avery has little girls from her class donating. We have young girls that are six and seven that already have that heart and compassion that are donating their hair, too. So I just wanted to set the bar high and just allow the community to kind of show what they can do.”
The hair will be donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, an organization that uses the donated hair to make wigs for cancer patients to receive free of charge.
Those who get their hair cut at Stained Salon in Lodi have a sign to hold after their cut that reads “I did it for Avery! #AveryStrong.” The pictures, combined with other photos of her journey, will be used to make a mosaic that will be presented to Mangrich at the end of the campaign.
“We’re all doing it in Avery’s name and trying to show her parents and her family just how much we support them as a community,” Campbell said.
She explained that the more ponytails that are donated, the more wigs that can be made for those in need.
“I just put it out there to the community that I was going do this, and I would love to have other people join in and show there support in this way,” she said. “This was my way to offer other people a chance to give some hope and encourage a family in our community that is fighting the fight against childhood cancer.”
According to Campbell, anyone who donates must have a minimum of eight inches and the hair must be dye and chemical free and no more than 5 percent gray.
For those who don’t meet the requirements or are unable to donate, Campbell said Pantene suggests a $8 donation to be made on their website (http://pantene. com/en-us/experience-mainsection2/beautiful-lengths) to help cover the cost of the wigs. For more information on
how to donate, visit the Pantene site.
Campbell is asking those who donate to email a picture
of their clipped ponytail to marycampbell@macaronikid.com to be included in the campaign.