Girls give up long, flowing locks for charity
Photo
Craig High freshman Teryn Bordwell reacts after seeing her hair in the hand of Studio 107 stylist Shelly Kolinski while she and four of her Craig Cross Country teammates donated their hair to Wigs For Kids.
JANESVILLE — “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”
If you had dumped a bucket of ice water on her, you might have gotten a similar reaction from Teryn Bordwell, 14.
She had just lost about half the length of her hair.
She was one of five members of the Craig High School Cross Country Team who agreed to give up big, shiny locks for charity Tuesday night.
The girls had a hard time getting over it. They pulled on their shortened strands and ran their fingers through their hair again and again after being shorn.
“Oh my gosh, it’s a nub!” Teryn exclaimed as she pulled her remaining hair into a stubby ponytail in front of a mirror at Studio 107 in downtown Janesville.
“I’ve never had short hair. It’s always been long. It’s weird to have it short,” she said.
“You just spend all this time growing your hair, and in a second, it’s gone,” said Regina Griffith, a 17-year-old senior. “It’s a shock.”
More than a shock, the girls seemed to be feeling genuine loss.
“Girls just like long hair. I don’t know what makes it so special,” said Jill Castro, a 16-year-old junior.
At the end of last year’s cross country season, Coach Brian Lawton asked the girls team to get involved in community service. More specifically, he suggested they donate their hair to charity.
This year’s team had 30 girls. Five had their long hair cut short Tuesday.
“A lot of them don’t have very long hair or aren’t very brave,” said another of the brave ones, Danica Reinicke, a 15-year-old sophomore.
Rounding out the group was Rachel Gilmore, a junior who turns 17 today.
“For some girls, giving up their hair is kind of a big deal, and it means something. It’s going to live longer than just an afternoon (of community service),” said assistant coach Jessica Lawton.
“It’s short, but it went to a good cause,” Jill said.
The hair is destined for Wigs for Kids, which supplies wigs to children who have lost hair from burns, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, or other medical circumstances and can’t pay for their own hairpieces.
The girls could not get over their loss at Studio 107 in downtown Janesville, where the cutting took place. One even shed tears. Some parents stood by proudly and took photos.
“I loved her long hair. All these girls just did so much,” said Teryn’s mother, Kaaren Bordwell, adding:
“It grows back.”
Oct 27, 2009 at 8:48 a.m.
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Oh BayMom loosen up.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:26 a.m.
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It seems to me that such a donation ought to be truly voluntary, not pressured by a (male, presumably not long-haired) coach and teammates who claim that those who won't do it aren't brave.
Better if the coach had donated a chunk of his salary to care for others (food pantries need it right now). I have no objection to hair donation, but using guilt, authority, and peer pressure to get it seems to me to be a real problem.
Oct 22, 2009 at 7:52 a.m.
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What a generous thing for these girls to do. I just lost my sister to breast cancer three months ago after an 8-year battle and this was something dear to her heart. Her wigs were very important to her during chemo and this is a wonderful gift, especially from teenage girls whose long hair is so important to them. Her best friend donated her long hair just two days before the memorial and if my hair wasn't already short, I would have done the same. It will grow back, but it is an invaluable gift to someone who has lost their hair. Way to go girls!
Oct 22, 2009 at 6:34 a.m.
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My daughter did this about 2 Wks ago, She is 14 yrs old and did it on her own with no pressure from anyone.. She went from a girl that had very short hair while growing up to one that had very long hair while in Middle School..now back to short hair... She donated her hair to "Locks Of Love" ( an organization that takes hair and makes it into wigs for girls that have cancer,,, she got her hair cut at "Cost Cutters" or "Great Clips" ( in Pick and Save on the south side) totally free.
Her reasoning behind it was " Why do I have to have long hair If someone is sick enough to lose their hair, Why not just get it cut and give it away, besides it is less to take care of for sports!!!"
She went from hair to the middle of her back ( pulled up into a Pony tail All the time,) to just short enough to reach her shoulders... about 12-14 inches... WHO ever said our kids don't know the morality and compassion of a situation is totally NUTS... She likes her new "DO" and she says it works great for sports!!!! I commend all the girls , Not just mine, who can and will do something like this.....
Oct 21, 2009 at 5:44 p.m.
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very kewl. cant imagine choppin my beautiful locks...but good karma for these chicas!!
Oct 21, 2009 at 5:24 p.m.
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Way to go girls! What a great act of kindness.
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