Local salon teams with Relay for Life

So that we can donate hair in order for children to get human hair wigs free of charge so they don’t have to be bald when they are going through chemotherapy.

June 2010

Michelle Kravchenko is hoping to provide children who are experiencing hair loss due to cancer treatments with a new outlook and a new ‘do.

The stylist at Survivor gals Specialty Products and Salon will offer free “pony tail cuts” to participants at the April 30-May 1 Relay for Life event in Plano so that donated hair can be used to make wigs.

Kravchenko is hoping for at least 20 donated pony tails “so that we can donate hair in order for children to get human hair wigs free of charge so they don’t have to be bald when they are going through chemotherapy,” she said

The Plano salon features a large collection of wigs and scarves and also offers private rooms for those who would like a little more privacy.

“I had a high school student come in right before her prom whose hair was just beginning to fall out,” Kravchenko said. “So we shaved her head and got her a new wig. It made her look like a regular teen so that she didn’t have to be bald at her prom.”.

In order to participate in the pony tail cuts, the hair must be 6 inches long from the base of the ponytail. The hair can be dyed. Last year, the salon donated hair from more than 12 people to Locks of Love. This year it will be donated to the Pink Heart Fund, a foundation that supplies wigs free of charge to children with cancer.

According to the Relay for Life Web site, the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is “a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.”

“As a community it (the Relay for Life) is showing support for people who are going through or have gone through or have lost family or friends to cancer,” Kravchenko said.

During the event, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because “cancer never sleeps,” rRelays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.

Relay For Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Wash., ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with additional communities in 19 other countries, gather to take part and raise funds and awareness.

Anyone can participate in Relay for Life. The only requirement is the $10 per person registration/commitment fee due upon registration. For information visit relayforlife.org.

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