Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357 (w); 804-443-2703 (h)
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lesley Newman, Lovingly, Sports New Hairdo
St. Margaret's senior Lesley Newman, of White Stone, recently cut off 10" of her brown, curly hair as a charitable donation for Locks of Love, a Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit organization which provides quality hair prosthetics for children under the age of eighteen who are afflicted with medical hair loss.
SMS community service organizer Hillary Pugh, of Warsaw, broached the idea of supporting Locks of Love to Lesley and the SMS student body after she discovered the organization's internet web site last year. Hillary, an ambitious self-starter, organized the donation process and gave weekly winter and fall announcements encouraging her peers to give to this worthy cause.
SMS community service organizer Hillary Pugh (l.), of Warsaw, stands by Lesley Newman (striped pants), of White Stone, who recently donated 10" of her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that manufactures prosthetic hair pieces for children.
In December, SMS students Katy Challoner (Charleston, SC), Ashleigh Davidson (Hampton, VA), Kate Deily (Mechanicsville, MD), Haden Halperin (Richmond, VA), Truc Pham (Washington DC), and Kelly Proctor (Urbanna, VA), accepted Pugh's challenge and donated the 10" minimum hair length requirement to Locks of Love.
This spring, SMS continues its support of Locks of Love with Lesley Newman's donation. "I never planned to cut my hair this short but once I heard about Locks of Love at school, I decided it was something I wanted to do," answers Lesley. "Hillary has this smile…and this way of getting really enthusiastic about things…and I think her energy and good heart explains St. Margaret's involvement."
Hillary replies, "I used to bug Lesley all the time about cutting her hair [and donating] but I couldn't tell whether she was seriously considering it or not so when she came to school and gave me her locks, I couldn't believe it. It was the greatest surprise!"
Lesley's donated hair will be used to manufacture a replacement hair piece that a child will use to gain back lost self-esteem. Now Locks of Love hopes to provide synthetic hair pieces for the increasing number of children who suffer short-term hair loss due to chemotherapy treatment. The organization recognizes publicity in newspapers and local television stations as raising the level of human interest. Young adults comprise 75 percent of the donors making this a youth-helping-youth charity, which is mutually rewarding.
"I am really glad I was able to help a child in this way," says Lesley. "People have been really interested in learning more about this cause and I think that's the most important part-awareness."
"I never imagined there would be such a great response from the community," adds Hillary. "I hope it continues!"
To learn more about Locks of Love, write to: Locks of Love, 2400 E. Las Olas Blvd., Suite 399, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 3330, or call tollfree: (888) 896 - 1588.
